Background: Emergencies have a great impact on infant and young child feeding. Despite the evidence, the recommended feeding practices are often not implemented in the emergency response, undermining infant and maternal health. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of pregnant and lactating women during the earthquake emergency that occurred in L’Aquila on 6 April 2009. Methods: The study design was qualitative descriptive. Data were collected by individual semi-structured interviews, investigating the mother’s experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, infant formula or complementary feeding during the emergency and the post emergency phase. Data analysis was categorical and was performed by using N-Vivo software. Results: Six women who were pregnant at the time of the earthquake were interviewed in January 2010. In addition to the essential needs of pregnant and lactating women, such as those related to the emergency shelters conditions, the main findings emerged from this study were: the reconfiguration of relationships and the central role of partners and family support; the need of spaces for sharing experiences and practices with other mothers; the lack of breastfeeding support after the hospital discharge; the inappropriate donations and distribution of Breast Milk Substitutes. Conclusions: During and after L’Aquila earthquake, several aspects of infant and young child feeding did not comply with standard practices and recommendations. The response system appeared not always able to address the specific needs of pregnant and lactating women. It is urgent to develop management plans, policies and procedures and provide communication, sensitization, and training on infant and young child feeding at all levels and sectors of the emergency response.

Infants, young children, and their mothers are vulnerable in humanitarian emergencies. The health benefits of optimal breastfeeding practices in emergency settings have been demonstrated by many researchers. Infant and Young Children Feeding in Emergency guidelines illustrate a series of interventions to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding, but unfortunately, these recommendations are still scarcely applied. (1) To review the literature describing the effectiveness of breastfeeding protection, promotion, and support interventions in humanitarian emergency contexts; (2) to describe the influence of interventions on breastfeeding initiation, exclusivity, and duration; and (3) to evaluate relevant mother and infant/child outcomes available in the literature. PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Psychology Database, JSTOR, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Ovid were searched for articles that examined breastfeeding protection, promotion, or support interventions and the resulting outcomes without any time limits (N = 10). Articles that did not include the interventions and related outcomes were excluded (n = 1,391). Improved breastfeeding outcomes were reported in four (40%) papers, and three (30%) highlighted a behavioral change in infant and young child feeding practices following the implementation of the interventions. Increased knowledge about appropriate infant and young child feeding practices among mothers and humanitarian/health staff was reported in eight (80%) papers. However, outcomes were sometimes only generically reported, and some of the included papers had a low strength of evidence. In the literature, there is a great dearth of studies evaluating the influence of interventions aimed at improving breastfeeding in emergency settings. More evidence is urgently needed to encourage and implement optimal breastfeeding practices.

Violence against women is a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women. Healthcare services play a key role in the care of women exposed to violence, and father involvement in delivery and childcare can reduce intimate partner violence and has positive effects during pre and post-natal care. Our study aims to assess attitudes, practices, and perceived competencies of social-healthcare professionals on fathers’ active engagement in care and on prevention and management of violence against women after specific training. A pre–post study was carried out at two points in time: T0 (pre-training) and T1 within 15 days from the end of the course, using a semi-structured questionnaire. Changes were analyzed using paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Statistical analysis was carried out using Stata version 16. At T0, there were 129 participants. The most represented professions were midwives (66%). The average score of opinions at T0 and T1 improved, and this difference was significant (T0: 4.44; SD ± 0.6; T1: 4.42 SD ± 0.3; p = 0.0126). The same applies to perceived competencies (T0: 2.79; SD ± 0.6; T1: 2.99; SD ± 0.5; p = 0.0198). Professionals’ training on active fatherhood and on prevention and management of violence against women for health professionals is an effective public health strategy for health promotion.

INPLASY202650040 Menstrual health under constraint: a meta-synthesis of refugee women’s experiences Keywords: Menstrual health; Refugee women and girls; Menstrual equity; Menstrual hygiene manageme…

Background Emergencies have a great impact on infant and young child feeding. Although the evidence, the recommended feeding practices are still not implemented in the emergency response, undermining infant and maternal health. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of pregnant and lactating women during the earthquake emergency that occurred in L’Aquila on April 6, 2009. Methods The study design was qualitative descriptive. Data were collected by individual semi-structured interviews, investigating the mother’s experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, infant formula or complementary feeding during the emergency and the post emergency phase. Data analysis was categorical and was performed by using N-Vivo software. Results Six women who were pregnant at the time of the earthquake were interviewed in January 2010. In addition to the essential needs of pregnant and lactating women, such as those related to the emergency shelters conditions, the main findings emerged from this study were: the reconfiguration of relationships and the central role of partners and family support; the need of spaces for sharing experiences and practices with other mothers; the lack of breastfeeding support after the hospital discharge; the inappropriate donations and distribution of Breast Milk Substitutes. Conclusions During and after L’Aquila earthquake, several aspects of infant and young child feeding did not comply with standard practices and recommendations. The response system appeared not always able to address the specific needs of pregnant and lactating women. It is urgent to develop management plans, policies and procedures and provide communication, sensitization, and training on infant and young child feeding at all levels and sectors of the emergency response.