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Faculty of Health Sciences

McMaster Midwifery Research Centre

MMRC Research Round up: July 2020 to December 2020

A brighter world banner on display next to branches of a tree

The last year has come with many transitions and adaptations to the new normal. While we continue to push through these changing times, our team of faculty, staff, students, and fellows remains dedicated in our mission to improve maternal outcomes, advocating for health service provision for families and newborns, and advancing health professional education.

As we enter a new year, we have rounded up the centre’s most recent presentations and publications.

MMRC 2020 Research Symposium:

  • In the fall of 2020, the MMRC hosted its 4th annual research symposium that welcomed over 25 presenters giving keynote presentations and showcases, panel discussions, and rapid fire rounds. Presentations explored new ways to study midwifery retention, innovative midwifery models of care, understanding client cannabis experiences and beliefs, and clinician experiences during COVID-19. With over 288 unique participants registered for our virtual daily lunch hour sessions, we were able to extend our reach throughout the country and internationally!
    • Watch and learn more about our 3 keynote presentations, 2 panel discussions, 3 showcases, and trainee presentations here.

Publications:

Health Services & Access to Care

  • Liz Darling (MMRC Scientist and MEP Director) and colleagues publish work on client experiences and satisfaction with Ontario Birth Centres.

Reszel J, Weiss D, Darling EK, Sidney D, Van Wagner V, Soderstrom B, Rogers J, Holmberg V, Peterson WE, Khan BM, Walker MC. Client Experience with the Ontario Birth Center Demonstration Project. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. 2020 Dec 18.

  • Beth Murray Davis (MMRC Scientific Director) and colleagues from McMaster examine health inequities related to women’s diet in pregnancy.

McKerracher L, Oresnik S, Moffat T, Murray-Davis B, Vickers-Manzin J, Zalot L, Williams D, Sloboda DM, Barker ME. Addressing embodied inequities in health: how do we enable improvement in women’s diet in pregnancy?. Public Health Nutrition. 2020 Nov 1;23(16):2994-3004.

  • Liz Darling, Beth Murray-Davis, Meredith Vanstone (MMRC Adjunct Scientist) along with MMRC fellows, Lisa Nussey and Tonia MacDonald, and staff, Rashid Ahmed, published a series of articles related to access to midwifery care.

Darling EK, Murray-Davis B, Ahmed RJ, Vanstone M. Access to Ontario Midwifery Care by Neighbourhood- Level Material Deprivation Quintile, 2006–2017: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice. 2020;19(2):8-23.

Nussey L, MacDonald T, Murray-Davis B, Vanstone M, Darling EK. Community as client – the work of midwives to increase access to midwifery care: A qualitative descriptive study. Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice. 2020;19(2):24-39.

Darling EK, MacDonald T, Nussey L, Murray-Davis B, Vanstone M. Making midwifery services accessible to people of low SES: A qualitative descriptive study of the barriers faced by midwives in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice. 2020;19(2):40-52.

Health Outcomes

  • Eileen Hutton (MMRC Scientist) and colleagues from the Control of Hypertension in Pregnancy Study (CHIPS) report the impact pre-eclampsia definitions on adverse outcome risk identification.

Magee LA, Singer J, Lee T, Rey E, Asztalos E, Hutton E, Helewa M, Logan AG, Ganzevoort W, Welch R, Thornton JG. The impact of pre?eclampsia definitions on the identification of adverse outcome risk in hypertensive pregnancy?analyses from the CHIPS trial (Control of Hypertension in Pregnancy Study). BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 2020 Nov 23.

  • Beth Currie (MEP alumni) and Olivia Marquez, under the supervision of Liz Darling, published their review on safety and feasibility of midwives and nonphysician providers providing contraception care.

Currie B, Marquez O, Darling EK. The safety and feasibility of contraception care by midwives and other nonphysician providers: a scoping review of randomized control trials. Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice. 2020;19(1):6-19.

  • Eileen Hutton along with colleagues from the MiTy study published maternal glycemic and neonatal adiposity outcomes from the randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Feig DS, Donovan LE, Zinman B, Sanchez JJ, Asztalos E, Ryan EA, Fantus IG, Hutton E, Armson AB, Lipscombe LL, Simmons D. Metformin in women with type 2 diabetes in pregnancy (MiTy): a multicentre, international, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. 2020 Oct 1;8(10):834-44.

  • Liz Darling and colleagues explore complications rates related to restrictive risk evaluation and mitigation strategy regulations for medical abortion.

Schummers L, Darling EK, Law MR, Laba TL, McGrail K, Dunn S, Norman WV. O2 Do medication abortion complications increase when restrictive risk evaluation and mitigation strategy regulations are removed? A population-based study using single-payer linked health administrative data. Contraception. 2020 Oct 1;102(4):273.

  • Eileen Hutton and Katherine Morrison (Adjunct Scientist) published work from the Preterm Baby & Microbiota study that examined the presence of suspected probiotic signals and changes in the gut microbiome in early preterm infants after in-hospital supplementation

Yousuf EI, Carvalho M, Dizzell SE, Kim S, Gunn E, Twiss J, Giglia L, Stuart C, Hutton EK, Morrison KM, Stearns JC. Persistence of Suspected Probiotic Organisms in Preterm Infant Gut Microbiota Weeks After Probiotic Supplementation in the NICU. Frontiers in microbiology. 2020 Sep 25;11:2305.

  • Beth Murray-Davis and Lindsay Grenier (Research Coordinator) published work from the Be Healthy In Pregnancy Study looking at factors that impact nutrition and exercise behaviours among pregnant women.

Grenier LN, Atkinson SA, Mottola MF, Wahoush O, Thabane L, Xie F, Vickers?Manzin J, Moore C, Hutton EK, Murray?Davis B. Be Healthy in Pregnancy: Exploring factors that impact pregnant women’s nutrition and exercise behaviours. Maternal & child nutrition. 2020 Jul 23:e13068.

  • Liz Darling and colleagues publish work on maternal morbidity surveillance for prolonged hospitalisation and death

Dzakpasu S, Deb?Rinker P, Arbour L, Darling EK, Kramer MS, Liu S, Luo W, Murphy PA, Nelson C, Ray JG, Scott H. Severe maternal morbidity surveillance: Monitoring pregnant women at high risk for prolonged hospitalisation and death. Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology. 2020 Jul;34(4):427-39.

  • Liz Darling, Lisa Nussey  (MMRC Fellow) and Samantha Krueger (MMRC Fellow) explore sociodemographic factors and outcomes of people receiving inadequate prenatal care

Nussey L, Hunter A, Krueger S, Malhi R, Giglia L, Seigel S, Simpson S, Wasser R, Patel T, Small D, Darling EK. Sociodemographic Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of People Receiving Inadequate Prenatal Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada. 2020 May 1;42(5):591-600.

  • Liz Darling and McMaster colleagues publish incidence, risk factors, and outcomes related to neonatal renal vein thrombosis in Ontario

Ouellette AC, Darling EK, Sivapathasundaram B, Babe G, Perez R, Chan AK, Chanchlani R. Incidence, Risk factors, and Outcomes of Neonatal Renal Vein Thrombosis in Ontario: Population-based cohort study. Kidney360. 2020 Jan 1:10-34067.

Grants:

  • Congratulations to Liz Darling (co-investigator) and colleagues on the recently CIHR-funded project to explore outcomes, costs, and experiences of hospital-based postnatal care at Montfort Hospital in Montreal.

The Montfort Postnatal Care at Home Program: How do health outcomes, costs, patient and provider experiences compare with usual hospital-based postnatal care. Peterson W, Salvador A, Cipriano L, Coyle D, Darling E, Dunn S, Gravelle A, Leduc D, McCoubrey D, Nault J, Palerme S.

  • Liz Darling and Bruce Wainnman (MEP Faculty) and McMaster colleagues receive funds to study new approaches to course evaluations.

Q-Methodology: A Revolutionary Approach to Course Evaluation. Akhtar-Danesh N, Wainman B, Darling E, Wojikowski S, Brewer-Deluce D, Jackson T.

  • Cristina Mattison and Kirsty Bourret (MMRC Fellows) receive the 2020 International Policy Ideas Challenge by Global Affairs Canada and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to investigate the Feminist International Assistance Policy evidence to improve sexual and reproductive health through strategic partnerships with women-led civil society organizations.

Grounding the Feminist International Assistance Policy in evidence to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights through partnerships with women-led civil society organizations. Cristina Mattison and Kirsty Bourret.

  • Liz Darling and colleagues across Canada receive CIHR funds to explore mifepristone regulations and their relation to health system outcomes using health administrative data.

The CART Mife-Outcomes study: Relating Canada’s unique mifepristone regulations to health system events, costs and access to abortion, using linked health administrative data. Norman WV (NPA), Henry BJF (Co-PI), McGrail KM (Co-PI), Brooks M, Bryant S, Darling E, Davies C, Dunn S, Guilbert E, Guindon E, Kaczorowski J, Law M, Martin-Misener R, Munro S, Renner R, Roussel J, Schummers L, Soon J, Webster G.

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To learn more about other published works from earlier in 2020, click here. Additional MMRC publications are available here.

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