Factors associated with induced abortion over time: secondary data analysis of five waves of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

OBJECTIVE: A trend analysis of associations with induced abortion. METHODS: Secondary analysis of the 1973/78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health of women responding to two or more consecutive surveys out of five (N=9,042), using generalised estimating equations. RESULTS: New abortions dropped from 7% to 2% at surveys 4 and 5. By survey 5, 16% of respondents reported abortions, only 2% of them new. Women aged in their twenties were more likely to terminate a pregnancy if they reported less-effective contraceptives (aOR2.18 CI 1.65-2.89); increased risky drinking (aOR1.65 CI 1.14-2.38); illicit drugs ≤12 months (aOR3.09 CI 2.28-4.19); or recent partner violence (aOR2.42 CI 1.61-3.64). By their thirties, women were more likely to terminate if they reported violence (aOR2.16 CI 1.31-3.56) or illicit drugs <12 months (aOR2.69 CI 1.77-4.09). Women aspiring to be fully- (OR1.58 CI 1.37-1.83) or self-employed (OR1.28 CI 1.04-1.57), with no children (OR1.41 CI 1.14-1.75) or further educated (OR 2.08 CI 1.68-2.57) were more likely to terminate than other women. CONCLUSIONS: Abortion remains strongly associated with factors affecting women's control over reproductive health such as partner violence and illicit drug use. Implications for public health: Healthcare providers should inquire about partner violence and illicit drug use among women seeking abortion, support women experiencing harm and promote effective contraception.

Longitudinal Changes in Self-Efficacy, Mental Health, Abuse, and Stages of Change, for Women Fearful of a Partner: Findings From a Primary Care Trial (WEAVE).

Women seeking healthcare while experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) often report a mismatch between healthcare received and desired. An increase in detection of women experiencing IPV through routine screening has not consistently shown a parallel increase in uptake of referrals or decreased abuse. This study investigates relationships between women's stage of change (SOC), mental health, abuse, social support, and self-efficacy. This study used data from a randomized-controlled trial (RCT) of an intervention to improve outcomes for women afraid of their partners ( n = 225; WEAVE). Women's progress toward change was categorized into pre-contemplation/contemplation (pre-change SOC) or preparation/action/maintenance of change (change-related SOC). Characteristics of women ending the 2-year study in pre-change SOC were compared with those always in change-related and those ending in change-related SOC. Variables were analyzed using multinomial logistic regressions at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months. Compared with women in pre-change SOC, women always in change-related SOC or ending in change-related SOC are significantly more likely to have higher levels of self-efficacy at 6 (AdjOR = 1.19, confidence interval [CI] = [1.08, 1.30]) and 24 months (AdjOR = 1.21, CI = [1.04, 1.40]). Women always in change-related SOC are always significantly less likely to live with an intimate partner. Women ending in change-related SOC are less likely to live with a partner at 12 (AdjOR = 0.30, CI = [0.12, 0.75]) and 24 (AdjOR = 0.22, CI = [0.06, 0.80]) months. Clinicians should focus on enhancing abused women's self-efficacy, supporting them to create and maintain positive changes.

Supporting breastfeeding In Local Communities (SILC) in Victoria, Australia: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Breastfeeding has significant health benefits for mothers and infants. Despite recommendations from the WHO, by 6 months of age 40% of Australian infants are receiving no breast milk. Increased early postpartum breastfeeding support may improve breastfeeding maintenance. 2 community-based interventions to increase breastfeeding duration in local government areas (LGAs) in Victoria, Australia, were implemented and evaluated. DESIGN: 3-arm cluster randomised trial. SETTING: LGAs in Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: LGAs across Victoria with breastfeeding initiation rates below the state average and > 450 births/year were eligible for inclusion. The LGA was the unit of randomisation, and maternal and child health centres in the LGAs comprised the clusters. INTERVENTIONS: Early home-based breastfeeding support by a maternal and child health nurse (home visit, HV) with or without access to a community-based breastfeeding drop-in centre (HV+drop-in). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The proportion of infants receiving 'any' breast milk at 3, 4 and 6 months (women's self-report). FINDINGS: 4 LGAs were randomised to the comparison arm and provided usual care (n=41 clusters; n=2414 women); 3 to HV (n=32 clusters; n=2281 women); and 3 to HV+drop-in (n=26 clusters; 2344 women). There was no difference in breastfeeding at 4 months in either HV (adjusted OR 1.04; 95% CI 0.84 to 1.29) or HV+drop-in (adjusted OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.78 to 1.08) compared with the comparison arm, no difference at 3 or 6 months, nor in any LGA in breastfeeding before and after the intervention. Some issues were experienced with intervention protocol fidelity. CONCLUSIONS: Early home-based and community-based support proved difficult to implement. Interventions to increase breastfeeding in complex community settings require sufficient time and partnership building for successful implementation. We cannot conclude that additional community-based support is ineffective in improving breastfeeding maintenance given the level of adherence to the planned protocol. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12611000898954; Results.

The impact of violence against women on reproductive health and child mortality in Timor-Leste.

OBJECTIVES: To determine differences in reproductive health and infant and child mortality and health between abused and non-abused ever-married women in Timor-Leste. METHODS: Secondary data analysis of Timor-Leste Demographic Health Survey (1,959 ever-married women aged 15-49 years). Associations with violence estimated using multinomial logistic regression adjusted for sociodemographic variables and age of first intercourse. RESULTS: Overall, 45% of ever-married women experienced violence: 34% reported physical only and 11% reported combined physical, sexual and/or emotional violence. Compared to non-abused women, women reporting physical violence only were more likely to use traditional contraception (AdjOR 2.35, 95%CI 1.05-5.26) or report: a sexually transmitted infection (AdjOR 4.46, 95%CI 3.27-6.08); a pregnancy termination (AdjOR 1.42, 95%CI 1.03-1.96); a child who had died (AdjOR 1.30, 95%CI 1.05-1.60), a low birth weight infant (AdjOR 2.08, 95%CI 1.64-2.64); and partially vaccinated children (AdjOR 1.35, 95%CI 1.05-1.74). Women who reported combined abuse were more likely to report: a sexually transmitted infection (AdjOR 3.51, 95%CI 2.26-5.44); a pregnancy termination (AdjOR 1.95, 95%CI 1.27-3.01); few antenatal visits (AdjOR 1.76 95%CI 1.21-2.55); and a child who had died (AdjOR 1.45, 95%CI 1.06-2.00). CONCLUSIONS: Violence exposes women to poor reproductive health, infant and child mortality and poor infant and child health. IMPLICATIONS: Preventing and reducing violence against women should improve women and children's health outcomes in Timor-Leste.

Supporting breastfeeding In Local Communities (SILC): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding is associated with significant positive health outcomes for mothers and infants. However, despite recommendations from the World Health Organization, exclusive breastfeeding for six months is uncommon. Increased breastfeeding support early in the postpartum period may be effective in improving breastfeeding maintenance. This trial will evaluate two community-based interventions to increase breastfeeding duration in Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Victoria, Australia. METHODS/DESIGN: A three-arm cluster randomised controlled trial design will be used. Victorian LGAs with a lower than average rate of any breastfeeding at discharge from hospital and more than 450 births per year that agree to participate will be randomly allocated to one of three trial arms: 1) standard care; 2) home-based breastfeeding support; or 3) home-based breastfeeding support plus access to a community-based breastfeeding drop-in centre. The services provided in LGAs allocated to 'standard care' are those routinely available to postpartum women. LGAs allocated to the home-based visiting intervention will provide home-visits to women who are identified as at risk of breastfeeding cessation in the early postnatal period. These visits will be provided by Maternal and Child Health Nurses who have received training to provide the intervention (SILC-MCHNs). In areas allocated to receive the second intervention, in addition to home-based breastfeeding support, community breastfeeding drop-in centres will be made available, staffed by a SILC-MCHN. The interventions will run in LGAs for a nine to twelve month period depending on birth numbers. The primary outcome is the proportion of infants receiving any breast milk at four months of age. Breastfeeding outcomes will be obtained from routinely collected Maternal and Child Health centre data and from a new data item collecting infant feeding 'in the last 24 hours'. Information will also be obtained directly from women via a postal survey. A comprehensive process evaluation will be conducted. DISCUSSION: This study will determine if early home-based breastfeeding support by a health professional for women at risk of stopping breastfeeding, with or without access to a community-based breastfeeding drop-in centre, increases breastfeeding duration in Victorian LGAs with low breastfeeding rates. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12611000898954.

Intimate partner violence and the association with very preterm birth.

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence is a major public health problem. It occurs commonly in pregnancy, resulting in adverse events for women and their fetus or children. The objective of this study was to examine the association between intimate partner violence and very preterm birth. METHODS: This population-based, case-control study was conducted in Victoria, Australia, from 2002 to 2004. Interviews were conducted with 603 women who had a singleton very preterm birth (20-31 weeks' gestation), 770 women who had a singleton term birth (37 or more completed weeks' gestation), 139 women who had a very preterm twin birth, and 214 women who had a term twin birth. Intimate partner violence was measured using the Composite Abuse Scale, and questions were also asked about fear of partners and violence from others. RESULTS: Prevalence of intimate partner violence in the past 12 months was 14.9 percent in singleton case women, 11.7 percent in singleton control women, 9.5 percent in twin case women, and 14.7 percent in twin control women. Fear of a previous partner and reporting similar violence experience with someone else were more likely in singleton births (AOR = 1.36; 95% CI 1.03, 1.79) and (AOR = 1.44; 95% CI 1.12, 1.86), respectively. No differences between twin case women and twin control women were observed. When the precipitating cause of very preterm birth was investigated, antepartum hemorrhage was significantly associated with intimate partner violence and all its subscales. CONCLUSIONS: The heterogeneity of causes of very preterm birth may explain the lack of association found with intimate partner violence in pregnancy. Pregnant women have a significant risk of intimate partner violence, which should be a serious concern for all care providers.

Identifying risk factors for very preterm birth: a reference for clinicians.

OBJECTIVE: to provide an accessible list of individual and population-based risk factors associated with very preterm birth to assist care providers in planning appropriate pregnancy care. DESIGN: a population-based case-control study. SETTING: Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: women were recruited from April 2002 to 2004. Cases had a singleton birth between 20 and 31+6 weeks gestation and controls were a random selection of women having a birth of at least 37 weeks gestation in the same time period as the cases. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: structured interviews were conducted within a few weeks postpartum with 603 cases and 796 controls. Data were collected on sociodemographic factors; obstetric and gynaecological history; and maternal health problems, both pre-existing and occurring during the index pregnancy. Risk factors were calculated. KEY CONCLUSIONS: when correlated, risk factors were grouped as either lifestyle or maternal health factors. The majority of the risks were obstetric or gynaecological factors. Risks occurring in pregnancy may precipitate preterm birth. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: knowing the risk factors for very preterm birth is likely to be helpful for pregnancy care providers. The development of a risk factor checklist based on the findings presented here may enable more informed planning of care and timely intervention.

Intracervical procedures and the risk of subsequent very preterm birth: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation of prior intracervical procedures with very preterm birth. DESIGN: A population-based case-control study. SETTING: The study was conducted in Australia between 2002 and 2004. SAMPLE: Three hundred and forty-five women having a medically indicated and 236 having a spontaneous singleton birth between 20 and 31 weeks of gestation and 796 women selected randomly from all those giving birth at ≥37 weeks of gestation. METHODS: Interview data were analysed using logistic regression. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Very preterm birth. RESULTS: Very preterm birth was significantly associated with having any intracervical procedure [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.07; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-2.7], in particular curettage associated with abortion (AOR 1.80; 95% CI 1.2-2.6). Assisted reproductive technology procedures were significantly associated with medically indicated very preterm birth (AOR 3.07; 95% CI 1.8-5.3) and treatments for precancerous cervical changes were significantly associated with spontaneous very preterm birth, as follows: conization/cone biopsy (AOR 3.33; 95% CI 1.8-6.2) and cauterization/ablation (AOR 2.27; 95% CI 1.4-3.8). Suction aspiration for abortion, abnormal Pap smear without treatment and abortion without instrumentation were not associated with very preterm birth. CONCLUSIONS: Intracervical procedures are associated with very preterm birth. Notably, curettage rather than any other procedure associated with abortion appears to be implicated in the risk. The introduction of infection during cervical procedures may be the common link with risks found. Changing clinical practice in the management of abortion and human papillomavirus vaccination may lead to lowering the risks of very preterm birth.

Mothers' AdvocateS In the Community (MOSAIC)--non-professional mentor support to reduce intimate partner violence and depression in mothers: a cluster randomised trial in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Effective interventions to increase safety and wellbeing of mothers experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) are scarce. As much attention is focussed on professional intervention, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of non-professional mentor support in reducing IPV and depression among pregnant and recent mothers experiencing, or at risk of IPV. METHODS: MOSAIC was a cluster randomised trial in 106 primary care (maternal and child health nurse and general practitioner) clinics in Melbourne, Australia. 63/106 clinics referred 215 eligible culturally and linguistically diverse women between January 2006 and December 2007. 167 in the intervention (I) arm, and 91 in the comparison (C) arm. 174 (80.9%) were recruited. 133 (76.4%) women (90 I and 43 C) completed follow-up at 12 months. INTERVENTION: 12 months of weekly home visiting from trained and supervised local mothers, (English & Vietnamese speaking) offering non-professional befriending, advocacy, parenting support and referrals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes; IPV (Composite Abuse Scale CAS) and depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale EPDS); secondary measures included wellbeing (SF-36), parenting stress (PSI-SF) and social support (MOS-SF) at baseline and follow-up. ANALYSIS: Intention-to-treat using multivariable logistic regression and propensity scoring. RESULTS: There was evidence of a true difference in mean abuse scores at follow-up in the intervention compared with the comparison arm (15.9 vs 21.8, AdjDiff -8.67, CI -16.2 to -1.15). There was weak evidence for other outcomes, but a trend was evident favouring the intervention: proportions of women with CAS scores ≥ 7, 51/88 (58.4%) vs 27/42 (64.3%) AdjOR 0.47, CI 0.21 to 1.05); depression (EPDS score ≥ 13) (19/85, 22% (I) vs 14/43, 33% (C); AdjOR 0.42, CI 0.17 to 1.06); physical wellbeing mean scores (PCS-SF36: AdjDiff 2.79; CI -0.40 to 5.99); mental wellbeing mean scores (MCS-SF36: AdjDiff 2.26; CI -1.48 to 6.00). There was no observed effect on parenting stress. 82% of women mentored would recommend mentors to friends in similar situations. CONCLUSION: Non-professional mentor mother support appears promising for improving safety and enhancing physical and mental wellbeing among mothers experiencing intimate partner violence referred from primary care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12607000010493http://www.anzctr.org.au.

Life with a new baby: how do immigrant and Australian-born women's experiences compare?

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about immigrant mothers' experiences of life with a new baby, apart from studies on maternal depression. Our objective was to compare the post-childbirth experiences of Australian-born and immigrant mothers from non-English speaking countries. METHODS: A postal survey of recent mothers at six months postpartum in Victoria (August 2000 to February 2002), enabled comparison of experiences of life with a new baby for two groups of immigrant women: those born overseas in non-English-speaking countries who reported speaking English very well (n=460); and those born overseas in non-English-speaking countries who reported speaking English less than very well (n=184) and Australian-born women (n=9,796). RESULTS: Immigrant women were more likely than Australian-born women to be breastfeeding at six months and were equally confident in caring for their baby and talking to health providers. No differences were found in anxiety or relationship problems with partners. However, compared with Australian-born women, immigrant mothers less proficient in English did have a higher prevalence of depression (28.8% vs 15%) and were more likely to report wanting more practical (65.2% vs 55.4%) and emotional (65.2% vs 44.1%) support. They were more likely to have no 'time out' from baby care (47% vs 28%) and to report feeling lonely and isolated (39% vs 17%). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Immigrant mothers less proficient in English appear to face significant additional challenges post-childbirth. Greater awareness of these challenges may help to improve the responsiveness of health and support services for women after birth.

Modelling prior reproductive history to improve prediction of risk for very preterm birth.

In published studies of preterm birth, analyses have usually been centred on individual reproductive events and do not account for the joint distributions of these events. In particular, spontaneous and induced abortions have often been studied separately and have been variously reported as having no increased risk, increased risk or different risks for subsequent preterm birth. In order to address this inconsistency, we categorised women into mutually exclusive groups according to their reproductive history, and explored the range of risks associated with different reproductive histories and assessed similarities of risks between different pregnancy histories. The data were from a population-based case-control study, conducted in Victoria, Australia. The study recruited women giving birth between April 2002 and April 2004 from 73 maternity hospitals. Detailed reproductive histories were collected by interview a few weeks after the birth. The cases were 603 women who had had a singleton birth between 20 and less than 32 weeks gestation (very preterm births including terminations of pregnancy) and the controls were 796 randomly selected women from the population who had had a singleton birth of at least 37 completed weeks gestation. All birth outcomes were included. Unconditional logistic regression was used to assess the association of very preterm birth with type and number of prior abortions, prior preterm births and sociodemographic factors. Using the complex combinations of prior pregnancy experiences of women (including nulligravidity), we showed that a history of prior childbirth (at term) with no preterm births gave the lowest risk of very preterm birth. With this group as the reference category, odds ratios of more than two were associated with all other prior reproductive histories. There was no evidence of difference in risk between types of abortion (i.e. spontaneous or induced) although the risk increased if a prior preterm birth had also occurred. There was an increasing risk of very preterm birth associated with increasing numbers of abortions. This method of data analysis reveals consistent and similar risks for very preterm birth following spontaneous or induced abortions. The findings point to the need to explore commonalities rather than differences in regard to the impact of abortion on subsequent births.

Modelling sequence of prior pregnancies on subsequent risk of very preterm birth.

The prevalence and intractability of preterm birth is known as is its association with reproductive history, but the relationship with sequence of pregnancies is not well studied. The data were from a population-based case-control study, conducted in Victoria, Australia. The study recruited women giving birth between April 2002 and April 2004 from 73 maternity hospitals. Detailed reproductive histories were collected by interview a few weeks after the birth. The cases were 603 women having a singleton birth between 20 and <32 weeks gestation (very preterm births including terminations of pregnancy). The controls were 796 randomly selected women from the population having a singleton birth of at least 37 completed weeks gestation. Unconditional logistic regression was used to assess the association of very preterm birth with sequence of pregnancies defined by their outcome (prior abortion - spontaneous or induced, and prior preterm or term birth) with adjustment for sociodemographic factors. The outcomes of each prior pregnancy, stratified by pregnancy order, and starting with the pregnancy immediately before the index or control pregnancy, were categorised as one of abortion, preterm birth or term birth. We showed that each of these prior pregnancy events was an independent risk of very preterm birth. This finding does not support the hypothesis of a neutralising effect of a term birth after an abortion on the subsequent risk for very preterm birth and is further evidence for the cumulative or increasing risk associated with increasing numbers of prior abortions or preterm births.

MOSAIC (MOthers' Advocates In the Community): protocol and sample description of a cluster randomised trial of mentor mother support to reduce intimate partner violence among pregnant or recent mothers.

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is prevalent globally, experienced by a significant minority of women in the early childbearing years and is harmful to the mental and physical health of women and children. There are very few studies with rigorous designs which have tested the effectiveness of IPV interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of abused women. Evidence for the separate benefit to victims of social support, advocacy and non-professional mentoring suggested that a combined model may reduce the levels of violence, the associated mental health damage and may increase a woman's health, safety and connection with her children. This paper describes the development, design and implementation of a trial of mentor mother support set in primary care, including baseline characteristics of participating women. METHODS/DESIGN: MOSAIC (MOtherS' Advocates In the Community) was a cluster randomised trial embedded in general practice and maternal and child health (MCH) nursing services in disadvantaged suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Women who were pregnant or with infants, identified as abused or symptomatic of abuse, were referred by IPV-trained GPs and MCH nurses from 24 general practices and eight nurse teams from January 2006 to December 2007. Women in the intervention arm received up to 12 months support from trained and supported non-professional mentor mothers. Vietnamese health professionals also referred Vietnamese women to bilingual mentors in a sub-study. Baseline and follow-up surveys at 12 months measured IPV (CAS), depression (EPDS), general health (SF-36), social support (MOS-SF) and attachment to children (PSI-SF). Significant development and piloting occurred prior to trial commencement. Implementation interviews with MCH nurses, GPs and mentors assisted further refinement of the intervention. In-depth interviews with participants and mentors, and follow-up surveys of MCH nurses and GPs at trial conclusion will shed further light on MOSAIC's impact. DISCUSSION: Despite significant challenges, MOSAIC will make an important contribution to the need for evidence of effective partner violence interventions, the role of non-professional mentors in partner violence support services and the need for more evaluation of effective health professional training and support in caring for abused women and children among their populations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12607000010493.

Depression and termination of pregnancy (induced abortion) in a national cohort of young Australian women: the confounding effect of women's experience of violence.

BACKGROUND: Termination of pregnancy is a common and safe medical procedure in countries where it is legal. One in four Australian women terminates a pregnancy, most often when young. There is inconclusive evidence about whether pregnancy termination affects women's rates of depression. There is evidence of a strong association between partner violence and depression. Our objective was to examine the associations with depression of women's experience of violence, pregnancy termination, births and socio-demographic characteristics, among a population-based sample of young Australian women. METHODS: The data from the Younger cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health comprised 14,776 women aged 18-23 in Survey I (1996) of whom 9683 aged 22-27 also responded to Survey 2 (2000). With linked data, we distinguished terminations, violence and depression reported before and after 1996.We used logistic regression to examine the association of depression (CES-D 10) as both a dichotomous and linear measure in 2000 with pregnancy termination, numbers of births and with violence separately and then in mutually adjusted models with sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: 30% of young women were depressed. Eleven percent (n = 1076) reported a termination by 2000. A first termination before 1996 and between 1996 and 2000 were both associated with depression in a univariate model (OR 1.37, 95%CI 1.12 to 1.66; OR 1.52, 95%CI 1.24 to 1.87). However, after adjustment for violence, numbers of births and sociodemographic variables (OR 1.22, 95%CI 0.99 to 1.51) this became only marginally significant, a similar association with having two or more births (1.26, 95%CI. 1.00 to 1.58). In contrast, any form of violence but especially that of partner violence in 1996 or 2000, was significantly associated with depression: in univariate (OR 2.31, 95%CI 1.97 to 2.70 or 2.45, 95% CI 1.99 to 3.04) and multivariate models (AOR 2.06, 95%CI 1.74 to 2.43 or 2.12, 95%CI 1.69 to 2.65). Linear regression showed a four fold greater effect of violence than termination or births. CONCLUSION: Violence, especially partner violence, makes a significantly greater contribution to women's depression compared with pregnancy termination or births. Any strategy to reduce the burden of women's depression should include prevention or reduction of violence against women and strengthening women's sexual and reproductive health to ensure that pregnancies are planned and wanted.

Recruitment to research studies in maternity hospitals: an example from the Early Births Study.

OBJECTIVES: to present issues associated with recruitment of women in maternity hospitals to a population-based case-control study of very preterm birth. DESIGN: a descriptive study of the recruitment process. SETTING: all maternity hospitals, including three providing neonatal intensive care services, in Victoria, Australia from April 2002 to April 2004. PARTICIPANTS: cases were women who had a singleton birth between 20 and 31+6 weeks of gestation. Controls were a random selection of women having a singleton birth of at least 37 completed weeks of gestation in the same time period as the cases. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: ethical approval was obtained from 73 of 77 maternity hospitals. Hospitals considered that privacy laws required that women should be approached initially by hospital staff for recruitment into the research study. Extensive effort was put into liaising with hospital personnel, determining hospital-specific protocols for approaching women and developing relationships with doctors, midwives and ward clerks. Recurrent reminders were provided to all hospitals. Of the 2785 women (cases and controls) ascertained as eligible, 13% of cases with surviving babies, 11% of controls and 74% of cases whose babies did not survive were not approached to participate in the study. Within these groups, there was variation by gestation and hospital. Once women were approached, 72% were interviewed. The interview response proportion was 50%. KEY CONCLUSIONS: recruitment to studies in the maternity setting in the postpartum period is a challenge. Barriers to recruitment that may have introduced selection bias in this study include: recruitment at many hospitals; short postnatal hospital stay; reliance on hospital staff to make the first approach to women; and low response from women whose babies did not survive. A dialogue between researchers and clinical midwives is proposed to explore ways of increasing researchers' understanding of the complex and demanding hospital environment, and to improve research awareness among clinical midwives.

Hospital ethics approval for a population-based case-control study of very preterm birth.

AIM: To describe the process involved in obtaining ethics approval for a study aiming to recruit women from all maternity hospitals in Victoria, Australia. DESIGN: Observational data of the application process involving 85 hospitals throughout Victoria in 2001. RESULTS: Twenty-three of the 85 hospitals had a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) constituted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Council requirements; 27 agreed to accept decisions from other hospitals having HRECs and 27 relied on ethics advisory committees, hospital managers, clinical staff, quality assurance committees or lawyers for ethics decisions. Four of the latter did not approve the study. Eight hospitals no longer provided maternity services in the recruitment period. The process took 16 months, 26,000 sheets of paper, 258 copies of the application and the cost was about $30,000. Approval was eventually obtained for recruitment at 73 hospitals. DISCUSSION: Difficulties exist in obtaining timely ethics approval for multicentre studies due to a complex uncoordinated system. All hospitals should have explicit protocols for dealing with research ethics applications so that they can be processed in a straightforward and timely manner. To facilitate this, those without properly constituted HRECs should be affiliated with one hospital that has an HREC.

A new formula for summarising the pregnancy history.

Pregnancy history formulae usually provide only summaries of numbers of pregnancies and births. Different pregnancy outcomes and their sequence are not captured. A new pregnancy history formula is proposed where one number provides information on parity, gravidity, sequence, gestation and outcome of pregnancies. For instance, 914 represents the history of a woman having had three pregnancies, where '9' represents a term first birth, '1', a miscarriage and '4', a preterm perinatal death in the third pregnancy. This formula could be used in medical records or perinatal databases.

Colorectal cancer risk, chronic illnesses, operations and medications: case control results from the Melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study. 1988.

The associations between colorectal cancer risk and several chronic illnesses, operations and various medications were examined in 715 colorectal cancer cases and 727 age- and sex-matched controls in data derived from a large, comprehensive population-based study of this cancer conducted in Melbourne, Australia. There was a statistically significant deficit among cases of hypertension, heart disease, stroke, chronic chest disease and chronic arthritis and a statistically significant excess of 'haemorrhoids' among cases, and all of these differences were consistent for both colon and rectal cancers and for both males and females. Although no statistically significant differences were found for other cancers, there were twice as many breast cancers among cases (16) than among controls (8) and also there were 9 uterine cancers among cases and only 2 among controls. There was a statistically significant deficit among cases in the use of aspirin-containing medication and vitamin supplements and this was consistent for both colon and rectal cancers and for both males and females. There was a statistically significant excess of large bowel polypectomy among cases. The modelling of these significant associations simultaneously in a logistic regression equation indicated that hypertension, heart disease, chronic arthritis and aspirin use were each independent effects and consistent for both colon and rectal cancers for both males and females and also that these effects were independent of dietary risk factors previously described in the Melbourne study. The possible relevance of these findings towards an understanding of colorectal cancer risk and aetiology is discussed.

Associations of self-reported violence with age at menarche, first intercourse, and first birth among a national population sample of young Australian women.

OBJECTIVES: This paper estimates the relation between women's experience of violence and the age of menarche, first sexual intercourse, and first birth. METHODS: The data are from the Younger Cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, which includes 9,683 women, aged between 22 and 27 years in 2000, who responded to surveys in both 1996 and 2000. RESULTS: In 1996, 9% of women reported current or previous partner violence and a further 5% reported it in 2000. Similarly, 11% and 8% reported recent nonpartner violence. Fifteen percent of the women reported first intercourse at <16 years. Early first intercourse was strongly associated with partner violence whereas young age at menarche and teenage birth were only associated with partner violence reported when women were <24 years old. Reported partner and recent nonpartner violence, when prevalent in 1996 or when occurring between 1996 and 2000, were consistently associated with early age at first intercourse; the earlier that age, the stronger the association. Women reporting intercourse before 14 years were the most likely to report partner violence, with odds ratios between 7 and 14 when compared with first intercourse reported by young women > or =17 years. CONCLUSIONS: These data clearly demonstrate a nexus between early intercourse and reported violence and add to the evidence of risks associated with early sexual initiation. These findings substantiate the need to prevent or reduce rates of early sexual abuse, to protect very young women from sexual exposure and to assist and support young women in their sexual decision making. We need to identify young women who have already experienced abuse or violence and undertake therapeutic interventions to prevent further victimization.