Happy Holidays from RCP - The Reproductive Care Program of Nova Scotia would like to extend wishes for joy, warmth, and peace this holiday season to perinatal care providers near and far. May your days be filled with laughter, love, and cherished moments with family and friends. Here's to a bright and prosperous New Year in 2025!
From the staff of the Reproductive Care Program of Nova Scotia.
RCP Midwifery Report - The RCP Midwifery report presents data from the Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal Database (NSAPD). The report provides a comprehensive analysis of midwifery practices in Nova Scotia, with a focus on key areas such as the number of births, place of birth, number of active midwives, hospital versus home births, and urban vs rural location of births. This aggregated data report presents indicators at both the provincial level and by zone of birthing parent residence. For the purposes of this report, a midwifery client is defined as a client who met at least two of the following three criteria: at least one prenatal visit, at least one postpartum visit, and a midwife present at birth, as either the first or second attendant. Click here for the full report.
Coming Soon: OAT Continuum of Care Practice Resource - RCP is excited to share that the Continuum of Care for pregnant persons diagnosed with Opioid Use Disorder: Comprehensive Summary and Clinical toolkit will be released in the early months of 2025. This comprehensive summary will serve as an accessible, inclusive, and evidence-based resource that informs care provider practice and education across Nova Scotia in caring for persons who are diagnosed with opioid use disorder, their newborns, and their families during the perinatal period. This resource was created using a diverse, interdisciplinary team, including patient partners, to ensure the practice guidance and recommendations within the comprehensive summary align with and enhance care provider clinical practice and the patient’s personal experience.
Provincial Pertussis Update from Public Health - Canada is seeing an overall increase in pertussis (whooping cough) cases, including here in Nova Scotia. Pertussis is a vaccine preventable disease that can be easily spread from person to person. Pertussis is very serious for babies and young children, especially newborns because they cannot be vaccinated until at least two months of age and can become extremely sick from pertussis. For this reason, pregnant persons are strongly encouraged to receive the pertussis vaccine (Tdap) during the third trimester of pregnancy, as the immunization offers some protection for newborns.
NS Public Health is requesting that care providers and community partners share information about pertussis with pregnant persons and those with new babies, to better inform them about options for protecting their children. Please share the letter posted to the RCP website and infographic with the people you serve and post the infographic in public spaces.
As a reminder for healthcare providers, anyone suspected to have pertussis should have a nasopharyngeal (NP) swab to rule in or out the diagnosis. These swabs should preferably be done prior to starting antibiotics. Pertussis is a notifiable disease, and all confirmed diagnoses must be reported to Public Health. This document provides details on how to report notifiable diseases. More information about pertussis is also available at www.nshealth.ca/pertussis
Syphilis and Screening in NS for Pregnant Persons and Newborns - The rate of syphilis in Canada has been steadily rising in recent years, becoming a significant public health concern. A surge in syphilis infection among women of childbearing age has led to more cases of congenital syphilis (transmission from the pregnant person to the fetus during pregnancy), which can result in severe health outcomes or death in newborns. An infographic created by the Public Health Agency of Canada provides a visual aid depicting the increase in syphilis rates in Canada. Cases of syphilis in pregnancy and confirmed cases of syphilitic stillbirth are reportable to Public Health. The rise in cases has led to national research exploring strategies to address infectious and congenital syphilis in Canada.
Screening recommendations for syphilis during the antenatal and postpartum periods, and for newborns can be found on the RCP website. These recommendations have been in place since 2020, were adapted from national guidelines, and remain in place. See the letter to care providers from January 2020 for additional practice guidance regarding consultation, testing and treatment.
Spinning Babies® Workshop - The Nova Scotia Doula Association (NSDA) is hosting a Spinning Babies® Workshop and has invited you to attend. Improve labor outcomes with the Spinning Babies® Workshop. Learn about physiological techniques that offer a complete system of birth preparation and labor. Spinning Babies® begins with fetal rotation to reveal the lesser-known physiology of birth anatomy. After this workshop you will be able to:
• Facilitate comfort in pregnancy and ease in childbirth for your clients,
• Improve fetal position without manipulation of the fetus,
• Identify issues faster; gentle actions to shorten a long labor or avoid a cesarean,
• Use less (or no) force to resolve malposition and labor dystocia,
• And much, much more!
Date: January 10 from 8:00-4:00pm
Location: Mic Mac Aquatic Club.
Registration is open and spaces are limited. Register on the Spinning Babies® website. Spaces are limited so your encouraged to register today!
Sign-Up for Smart Parent - The IWK Health Centre and Nova Scotia Health Public Health have launched the SmartParent pilot program. SmartParent is a free evidence-based text messaging program that sends information to achieve a healthy pregnancy and birth, timed and tailored to the specific stage of pregnancy. We are requesting your support as our healthcare and community partners in the pilot program in sharing the details of this valuable prenatal resource with colleagues, patients, and families. Additional information is available for parents on the IWK website and for care providers on the SmartParent website. SmartParent also provides posters which can be downloaded and posted in public spaces and online. Please encourage your perinatal patients and clients to sign up for SmartParent so they can benefit from the information shared throughout this transformational time in their lives. Enrollment can be completed by texting the keyword ‘Baby’ to 12323 or by going to www.smartparent.ca and clicking ‘Enroll Now’.
Affirming Care Conference - PrideHealth is pleased to announce the 2025 2SLGBTQIA+ Virtual Affirming Care Conference. This event will be co-hosted by prideHealth and the NSH/IWK Pride Network, with support from IWK Health and Nova Scotia Health. Join virtually on March 18th-20th, 2025. You will hear from internal and external speakers with diverse and intersecting lived experiences. Registration will open in January so please save the date and stay tuned for more details.
Opportunities to Participate in Research – The following research is underway and are seeking participation. Please share these research opportunites with your patients and families.
Statistics Canada Parental Experiences Survey – The Parental Experiences Survey collects information from Canadian parents on their experiences, knowledge and behaviours regarding pregnancy, childbirth, and access to and use of health care services. The survey aims to paint a more comprehensive picture of new parents and their infants. The results from the survey will help inform national recommendations for perinatal and newborn care as well as improve the mental health and well-being of parents and families across Canada. Posters can be found on the RCP website. Please post them in your clinical area
HealthyMomsDM* Study – A group of researchers are conducting the HealthyMomsDM* Study and are developing a website with tools, information, and resources to support the mental health and healthy lifestyle of women/birthing persons with diabetes who are planning pregnancy, are pregnant, and / or are new parents. The researchers are seeking input to help tailor the website and learn more about the features that would be most useful and relevant to women/birthing persons with diabetes. Study participants must be a Canadian resident and planning a pregnancy within the next 2 years or be currently pregnant or have given birth within the last 2 years. To enroll in the study click here.
Save the Date: Baby-Friendly Initiative Quality Improvement Workshop – The Breastfeeding Committee for Canada (BCC) is hosting a BFI Quality Improvement Workshop. Particpants will build foundational knowledge and skills of scaling up Baby-Friendly implementation using proven quality improvement strategies. The workshop includes focused learning using BCC electronic data collection tools and resources including BFI self-assessment, staff surveys, patient/client surveys and chart audits for both hospitals and Community teams. Participants will leave with the tools and resources to prepare for BFI Pre-Assessment and the new BFI Recognition Program for their facility.
The workshop is in two-parts and is scheduled for February 11th and 18th, 2025. Registration fees (per participant): BCC member - $75 and Non BCC member - $100. Registration for the event is now open. To register for the event click here.
Professional/health-related upcoming awareness events/days:
December:
• International Day of Persons with Disabilities — Dec. 3
• National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women — Dec. 6
• Bodhi Day — Dec. 8
• 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence — Nov. 25–Dec. 10
• Human Rights Day — Dec. 10
• Christmas Eve — Dec. 24
• Chanukah begins — Dec. 25
• Christmas Day — Dec. 25
• Boxing Day/St. Stephen's Day — Dec. 26
• Kwanzaa begins — Dec. 26
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If you have any questions or comments, please contact the RCP office at rcp@iwk.nshealth.ca.
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