Introduction: Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is associated with a lower risk of maternal morbidity, fewer complications in future pregnancies, and a reduced overall cesarean section (C-section) rate at the population level. Despite these benefits, a woman’s decision for VBAC is shaped by...

Introduction: Spinning Babies® procedures and the Rebozo technique have been recently implemented as additional interventions in laboring women with a fetus in occiput posterior position (OPP) to favor the rotation to an anterior position, which improve birth experience and health outcomes....

Although the quality of care during childbirth is a maternity service’s goal, less is known about the impact of the birth setting dimension on provision of care, defined as evidence-based intrapartum midwifery practices. This study’s aim was to investigate the impact of hospital birth volume (≥1000 vs. <1000 births/year) on intrapartum midwifery care and perinatal outcomes. We conducted a population-based cohort study on healthy pregnant women who gave birth between 2018 and 2022 in Lombardy, Italy. A total of 145,224 (41.14%) women were selected from nationally linked databases. To achieve the primary aim, log-binomial regression models were constructed. More than 70% of healthy pregnant women gave birth in hospitals (≥1000 births/year) where there was lower use of nonpharmacological coping strategies, higher likelihood of epidural analgesia, episiotomy, birth companion’s presence at birth, skin-to-skin contact, and first breastfeeding within 1 h (p-value < 0.001). Midwives attended almost all the births regardless of birth volume (98.80%), while gynecologists and pediatricians were more frequently present in smaller hospitals. There were no significant differences in perinatal outcomes. Our findings highlighted the impact of the birth setting dimension on the provision of care to healthy pregnant women.

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS-I) specifically for midwifery students. midwives are at risk of developing Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) which arises from witnessing or hearing about the trauma of others. Midwifery students are particularly vulnerable to STS due to the emotionally intense situations they encounter during their clinical training. This stress impacts their emotional well-being and their professional development. Despite the significant impact of STS on midwifery students, it remains underexplored in academic settings. An observational study was conducted enrolling midwifery bachelor students of University of Milano Bicocca and Verona. Reliability and structural validity of STSS-I were studied using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Cronbach's alpha. Moreover, the criterion concurrent validity was tested using the GHQ-12 as criterion standard through the ROC curve's study. Analysis was performed using Stata/MP18.0 and R (version 4.3.2). confirming the two-dimension structure, within midwifery students the STSS-I had a good structural validity (RMSEA=0.079, CFI=0.992 and TLI=0.991) and reliability (Arousal subscale's and Intrusion's Cronbach alpha were respectively 0.90 and 0.84). The criterion validity demonstrated a moderate level of accuracy (AUC 0.75 ± 0.06). The total average STSS-I score was 24.44 (DS=9.91), ranging from 15 to 68. The average of Arousal and Intrusion subscales were respectively 17.70 and 9.73. the STSS-I has good psychometric properties, representing a valid and reliable measure for assessing STS within midwifery students.

Introduction: Maternal birth satisfaction is correlated to long‐term outcomes and is influenced by the place of birth. In Italy, most births occur in hospitals. Our study aimed to assess whether the organizational level (I vs. II) of the Maternity Unit (MU) had any impact on birth satisfaction. Methods: A multicentric cohort study was conducted in 11 Italian MUs, classified as Level I (for low‐risk pregnancies or with minor complications) or Level II (for low and high‐risk women) according to organizational, structural, and technical standards. Birth satisfaction was measured using the Italian version of the BSS‐R, composed of three sub‐scales. Data analysis was performed using Stata/MP18.0. Results: Among 1642 participants, maternal satisfaction was similar in I and II level MUs (27.7 vs. 27.2; p ‐value 0.096). Women who gave birth in an I level MU were found to have a greater Quality of care sub‐scale score compared to participants who gave birth in a II level MU (14.28 vs. 13.87; p ‐value < 0.001). The three sub‐scales contributed differently to the total score, with a minor contribution given by the Stress Experienced (8.65/16) and the Women's Attributes sub‐scales (4.72/8). Conclusion: This study contributes to understanding how the level of the MU might impact women's birth satisfaction. Factors affecting the Women's Attributes and the Stress Experienced sub‐scales' scores should be considered to increase maternal satisfaction with birth, improving the quality of maternity services.