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 women�??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 woman�??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