Illegal migration is an increasing problem worldwide and the so-called undocumented migrants encounter major problems in access to prevention and health care. The objective of the study was to compare the use of preventive measures and pregnancy care of undocumented pregnant migrants with those of women from the general population of Geneva, Switzerland.

The source of CA125 synthesis is still debated. Endometrial, peritoneal, ovarian and amniotic cells have been demonstrated to produce and secrete CA125. Different studies show that the peritoneum is a source of CA125. The present study aimed at investigating in vivo and in vitro the peritoneal contribution to circulating CA125. Cultures of uterine peritoneum, abdominal peritoneum and myometrium explants were performed and CA125 measured in the culture medium. To modulate the potential production of CA125, the explants were cultured with or without cycloheximide, bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or ascitic fluid. In a prospective study, we compared a group of patients after abdominal surgery (n = 19; nine men, 10 women) with a group after extra-abdominal surgery (n = 21; 11 men, 10 women), in order to detect a postoperative increase of serum CA125. De-novo synthesis of CA125 could not be demonstrated in the cultures of uterine and abdominal peritoneum and in myometrium, but CA125 concentrations were detectable in the culture medium without being modulated by cycloheximide, LPS or ascitic fluid. After peritoneal surgery, the proportion of patients with increased serum CA125 was significantly higher (P < 0.03) after abdominal surgery as compared with extra-abdominal surgery. This is considered as indirect evidence for in-vivo production of CA125 by the peritoneum.

Migrant mothers in high-income countries often encounter more complications during pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period. To enlighten health care providers concerning potential barriers, the objective of this study was to explore positive and negative experiences with maternal health services in the University Hospitals of Geneva and Zurich and to describe barriers to maternity services from a qualitative perspective. In this qualitative study, six focus groups (FGs) were conducted involving 33 women aged 21 to 40 years. All FG discussions were audio-recorded and later transcribed. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach assisted by the Atlas.ti qualitative data management software. Positive experiences included not only the availability of maternity services, especially during emergency situations and the postpartum period, but also the availability of specific maternity services for undocumented migrants in Geneva. Negative experiences were classified into either personal or structural barriers. On the personal level, the main barriers were a lack of social support and a lack of health literacy, whereas the main themes on the structural level were language barriers and a lack of information. Structural adaptation is necessary to meet the needs of the extremely diverse population. The needs include (1) the provision of specific information for migrant women in multiple languages, (2) the availability of trained interpreters who are easily accessible to health care providers, (3) specifically trained nurses or social assistance providers to guide migrants through the health system, and (4) a cultural competence-training programme for health care providers.

Introduction Emergency caesarean section (ECS) qualifies as a psychological trauma, which may result in postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Maternal PTSD may not only have a significant negative impact on mother–infant interactions, but also on long-term infant development. The partner’s mental health may also affect infant development. Evidence-based early interventions to prevent the development of postpartum PTSD in mothers are lacking. Immediately after a traumatic event, memory formation is vulnerable to interference. There is accumulating evidence that a brief behavioural intervention including a visuospatial task may result in a reduction in intrusive memories of the trauma. Methods and analysis This study protocol describes a double-blind multicentre randomised controlled phase III trial testing an early brief maternal intervention including the computer game ‘Tetris’ on intrusive memories of the ECS trauma (≤1 week) and PTSD symptoms (6 weeks, primary outcome) of 144 women following an ECS. The intervention group will carry out a brief behavioural procedure including playing Tetris. The attention-placebo control group will complete a brief written activity log. Both simple cognitive tasks will be completed within the first 6 hours following traumatic childbirth. The intervention is delivered by midwives/nurses in the maternity unit. The primary outcome will be differences in the presence and severity of maternal PTSD symptoms between the intervention and the attention-placebo control group at 6 weeks post partum. Secondary outcomes will be physiological stress and psychological vulnerability, mother–infant interaction and infant developmental outcomes. Other outcomes will be psychological vulnerability and physiological regulation of the partner and their bonding with the infant, as well as the number of intrusive memories of the event. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was granted by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Canton de Vaud (study number 2017–02142). Dissemination of results will occur via national and international conferences, in peer-reviewed journals, public conferences and social media. Trial registration number NCT 03576586.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection (CTI) is the most frequent sexual transmitted disease (STI) in Switzerland but its prevalence in undocumented migrants is unknown. We aimed to compare CTI prevalence among undocumented migrants undergoing termination of pregnancy (ToP) to the prevalence among women with residency permit.