Peer-reviewed article
An Opportunity During Antenatal Services to Strengthen Nurturing Care: Global and National Recommendations for Routine Ultrasound Before 24 Weeks Gestation
Wiedaad Slemming, Roisin E. Drysdale, Linda Richter ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001The Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby study tests whether adding information about fetal development, parental wellbeing, and infant care to routine pregnancy ultrasounds can improve child development, growth, parent-infant attachment, and parental wellbeing in South Africa. The study was conducted at a hospital in Soweto with pregnant women and their partners using a randomized controlled trial design. This paper describes the process of developing and implementing the intervention in a complex clinical setting with multiple stakeholders.
Key points
- The intervention combines routine ultrasound services with information about fetal and infant development and parenting support
- Formative research informed the design and content of intervention materials
- Partners were invited to attend all intervention sessions
- Implementation involved close collaboration with clinicians to enhance recruitment and provide clinical oversight
- Ongoing stakeholder engagement and feedback were used to address implementation challenges
Limitations
This paper describes intervention development and implementation processes rather than reporting outcome results, so it cannot tell us whether the intervention actually improved child development, attachment, or parental outcomes. Outcome data from the 6-week and 6-month follow-up assessments are not presented.
Abstract
Introduction: The Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby study (HPHB) augments a routine service (pregnancy ultrasound) with information about fetal and infant development and the importance of parent wellbeing and infant care, to assess whether it will improve child development and growth, parent-infant attachment, parental wellbeing and routine clinic attendance. This paper outlines the process of intervention development and implementation in a complex environment with multiple stakeholders. Methods: Study participants were recruited from pregnant women attending fetal ultrasound (US) at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital (CHBH), Soweto, South Africa. Partners were invited to attend all sessions. The HPHB intervention, a novel combination of a health and a parenting intervention that augments a routine service (US), is being tested through a randomized controlled trial with outcome assessments at 6 weeks and 6 months follow-up. The current study outlines the process of moving from intervention design to full implementation in a high-risk clinical setting. Results: Formative research informed the design and content of the intervention materials. Implementation is monitored through weekly reports and team meetings as well as formal and informal feedback received from staff and participants. Close collaborations with clinicians enhanced recruitment practices and provided clinical oversight of the trial procedures. Ongoing stakeholder engagement informed intervention procedures and strategies to address challenges that arise during implementation. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the importance of dynamic, inclusive and interactive approaches to intervention development and implementation, as well as the purposeful use of varied information from diverse sources in decision-making for effective implementation.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Augmentation of routine pregnancy ultrasound with information about fetal and infant development, parent wellbeing, and infant care practices, delivered to pregnant women and their partners
- Population
- Pregnant women attending fetal ultrasound at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa, and their partners
Key finding
Study design includes randomized allocation to intervention and control groups