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Do the concepts of “life course approach” and “developmental origins of health and disease” underpin current maternity care? Study protocol
Author(s) -
Jacob Chandni Maria,
Lawrence Wendy T.,
Inskip Hazel M.,
McAuliffe Fionnuala M.,
Killeen Sarah Louise,
Hanson Mark
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1002/ijgo.12955
Subject(s) - medicine , thematic analysis , qualitative research , health care , nursing , protocol (science) , disease , exploratory research , family medicine , medical education , alternative medicine , social science , pathology , sociology , anthropology , economics , economic growth
Objective To explore the knowledge of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) concepts among midwives and obstetricians and to identify barriers and facilitators for clinicians to engage women and their partners before or early in pregnancy on risk factors associated with DOHaD, and thus to embed the concept of DOHaD in routine clinical practice. Methods A qualitative study using semi‐structured interviews will be conducted in Ghana, India, Pakistan, Brazil, the UK, and USA in collaboration with the International Confederation of Midwives and the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Participants will be contacted via email and telephone interviews will be conducted until data saturation followed by inductive thematic analysis. Results Findings from this exploratory study will provide new knowledge about the perspectives of midwives and obstetricians on DOHaD and their role in preventing the intergenerational passage of non‐communicable disease (NCD) risk and improving preconception care. Conclusion This study will help us understand the current use of DOHaD principles in international maternity care and how this can be improved. Bringing DOHaD to clinical practice will help healthcare practitioners adopt a long‐term approach in the prevention of NCDs and childhood obesity and will help women to enter pregnancy in optimum health.