Pregnant Women's Knowledge and Beliefs about the Safety and Outcomes of Delivery at Various Gestational Ages.
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2018-01
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Objectives Despite the morbidity associated with late preterm and early-term births, there is limited data on pregnant women's perception of neonatal risk based on gestational age (GA). Therefore, our objective was to determine pregnant women's perception of neonatal risks at varying GAs. Method Through an anonymous 24-question survey, pregnant women were asked to designate the GA at delivery that is desirable, safe, and defined as full term. Responses were compared based on race, history of preterm birth, and medical comorbidities. Results Among the 233 survey respondents, the majority (62.9%) desired delivery at 36 to 39 weeks' gestation. Black women were more likely to desire delivery at 28 to 35 weeks compared with other racial/ethnic groups ( p = 0.005). Women with a history of preterm birth or medical complications were less likely to desire delivery at 40 weeks. More than 40% of respondents thought delivery at 8 months of pregnancy was safe and 40.3% responded that 37 weeks' gestation is considered term. Conclusion Misconceptions surrounding the definition of a term pregnancy are pervasive and vary by race, obstetric history, and medical comorbidities. Our findings highlight the need for patient education about appropriate gestational length, especially in minority and high-risk populations.
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Baldwin, Melody A, Geeta K Swamy and Sarahn M Wheeler (2018). Pregnant Women's Knowledge and Beliefs about the Safety and Outcomes of Delivery at Various Gestational Ages. AJP Rep, 8(1). pp. e7–e12. 10.1055/s-0038-1624561 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16066.
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Scholars@Duke
Melody Baldwin
Geeta Krishna Swamy
Dr. Geeta Swamy, MD, is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, having served as the director of the Duke Perinatal Research Center and Vice Chair for Research and Faculty Development in the Department of ObGyn. She has achieved international acclaim as a clinician researcher and expert in the field of maternal immunization and perinatal infection. As a consultant to the World Health Organization, Dr. Swamy contributes her knowledge to advance international work to evaluate the immunogenicity, safety, and efficacy of vaccines in pregnant women. The American College of ObGyn has grown to be the “collective voice” for women’s health, and Dr. Swamy has been a leader within that organization for the last two decades. She currently serves as the Co-Principal Investigator for the NIH-NIAID Vaccine Treatment and Evaluation (VTEU) and CDC Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment. In addition, she has been a leader at Duke and nationally in promoting a culture of scientific integrity and transparency in research. She has been instrumental in developing and leading the School of Medicine’s research initiatives in administration, regulatory oversight, and compliance. In 2018, she became Vice Dean for Scientific Integrity in the School of Medicine and Associate Vice President for Research for Duke University. In these roles she oversees the Duke Office of Scientific Integrity (DOSI) which houses the Advancing Scientific Integrity, Services, & Training (ASIST) initiative, conflict of interest, clinical quality management, incident response in research, and research misconduct. She also oversees the Duke Office of Research Initiatives, the Duke Health IRB, Office of Research Administration (ORA), and Office of Research Contracts (ORC).
Sarahn M Wheeler
Dr. Sarahn M. Wheeler is a practicing maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Wheeler was born and raised in Mt. Laurel, NJ. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University. She completed medical school at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Wheeler went on to residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Wheeler completed her maternal-fetal medicine sup-specialty training at Duke University in June of 2016.
Dr. Wheeler currently serves as Assistant Professor in the Duke University School of Medicine. In this role, Dr. Wheeler is both a practicing clinician and research faculty. in her clinical role, Dr. Wheeler is the director of Duke's Prematurity Prevention Program, a specialty clinic that is geared for women with risk factors for preterm birth. In her research role, Dr. Wheeler has published several peer-reviewed articles on topics ranging from fetal brain injury to vaccination during pregnancy. Dr. Wheeler’s current research focus is on race disparities in preterm birth. She is actively involved in research to develop interventions to improve utilization of preterm birth prevention therapies.
Dr. Wheeler also serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the OB/GYN department. In this role she leads efforts to ensure an inclusive environment for the diverse patients, faculty, staff and trainees within Duke OB/GYN.
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