Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 31, 2025
A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
Self-care interventions for preconception, antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care: a scoping review
Phi-Yen Nguyen1,2, Cassandra Caddy2, Alyce N Wilson2
1Methods in Evidence Synthesis Unit, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Objective:
To identify current and emerging self-care interventions to improve maternity healthcare.
Design:
Scoping review.
Data Sources:
MEDLINE, Embase, EmCare, PsycINFO, Cochrane CENTRAL/CDSR, CINAHL Plus (last searched on 17 October 2021).
Eligibility Criteria:
Evidence syntheses, interventional or observational studies describing any tool, resource or strategy to facilitate self-care in women preparing to get pregnant, currently pregnant, giving birth or post partum.
Data Extraction/Synthesis:
Screening and data collection were conducted independently by two reviewers. Self-care interventions were identified based on predefined criteria and inductively organised into 11 categories. Characteristics of study design, interventions, participants and outcomes were recorded.
Results:
We identified eligible 580 studies. Many included studies evaluated interventions in high-income countries (45%) and during antenatal care (76%). Self-care categories featuring highest numbers of studies were diet and nutrition (26% of all studies), physical activity (24%), psychosocial strategies (18%) and other lifestyle adjustments (17%). Few studies featured self-care interventions for sexual health and postpartum family planning (2%), self-management of medication (3%) and self-testing/sampling (3%). Several venues to introduce self-care were described: health facilities (44%), community venues (14%), digital platforms (18%), partner/peer support (7%) or over-the-counter products (13%). Involvement of health and community workers were described in 38% and 8% of studies, who supported self-care interventions by providing therapeutics for home use, training or counselling. The most common categories of outcomes evaluated were neonatal outcomes (eg, birth weight) (31%), maternal mental health (26%) and labour outcomes (eg, duration of labour) (22%).
Conclusion:
Self-care interventions in maternal care are diverse in their applications, implementation characteristics and intended outcomes. Many self-care interventions were implemented with support from the health system at initial stages of use and uptake. Some promising self-care interventions require further primary research, though several are matured and up-to-date evidence syntheses are needed. Research on self-care in the preconception period is lacking.
More Related Videos
05:04A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
Published on: September 22, 2023
11:50Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
Related Concept Videos
01:30Preventive Healthcare Services
01:03Nursing Interventions I: Taxonomy of Nursing Interventions
A nursing intervention is a treatment or action based on scientific concepts and knowledge from the nursing, behavioral, and physical sciences. Identifying and prioritizing nursing interventions based on the desired outcome...
01:15Nursing Implementation
The five steps to implementing effective nursing care include reassessing the patient, reviewing and revising the existing nursing care plan, organizing the resources and care delivery, anticipating and preventing complications, and implementing nursing interventions.
01:29Nursing Interventions II: Selecting and Classifying the Nursing Interventions
01:28Acute Coronary Syndrome IV: Interprofessional Care
01:13Patient-centered Care