Health Care : Current Reviews

ANTENATAL CARE AND EDUCATION: ADDRESSING COMMON BIO PSYCHOSOCIAL MORBIDITIES TO ESTABLISH A HOLISTIC, MULTIDISCIPLINARY MODEL OF SUPPORT TO ALL CHILDBEARING WOMEN

13^th World Congress on Healthcare & Technologies

June 14-15, 2018 | Dublin, Ireland

Melissa Buultjens

La Trobe University, Australia

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Health Care Current Reviews

Abstract:

The antenatal period is a transitional time for parents-to-be, presenting various opportunities to maximise womenâ??s health literacy and wellbeing. In spite of this, there are numerous maternal morbidities associated with pregnancy and childbirth, and while not all are necessarily life-threatening, they can have a significant impact on a womanâ??s quality of life. This can include both clinical (e.g. incontinence and gestational diabetes) and psychosocial impairment (e.g. depression and parenting self-efficacy), often resulting in long-term chronic morbidities. This substantiates the rationale for a review of antenatal care and education, or more broadly, how we can target and address potentially modifiable risk factors. Finally, a holistic maternity model will be presented with a focus on multidisciplinary service provision in maternity care to provide proactive, rather than reactive support to childbearing women.

Biography :

Melissa Buultjens BHSc (Hons), BMid graduated with her PhD in the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2013. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia. Melissa combines her academic pursuits with her clinical practice as a midwife. Her research has predominately involved outcomes of perinatal care, whilst most recently she has developed a special interest in improving service provision and supportive care with the inclusion of smartphone technology.
Email:m.buultjens@latrobe.edu.au