Chlamydia trachomatis and other infectious diseases in pregnant women; perspectives of primary care midwives and pregnant women in the Netherlands

Midwives should provide information about strategies to prevent infectious diseases and screen for infectious diseases when necessary. In order to do this, midwives need to have adequate knowledge about infections that can harm pregnant women and/ or their (un)born child. We will focus on four infectious diseases; listeriosis, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus and Chlamydia trachomatis. These infections can negatively affect pregnancy outcomes and some of them can be prevented by behavioural change of the pregnant women. We will assess the knowledge and behaviours of pregnant women by the use of a questionnaire and the knowledge and practices of midwives by the use of videotapes and questionnaires. To determine the risk factors and the prevalence rate of Chlamydia in pregnant women and their partners we will use questionnaires and specimen collection.

Doel

The objective of this study is to raise awareness of listeriosis, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus and Chlamydia trachomatis infection by midwives in the Netherlands and to determine the prevalence of chlamydia trachomatis among pregnant women in the Netherlands in order to develop a prediction model that midwives can use during their daily practice.

Vraagstelling/hypothese

• What do pregnant women know about methods to prevent toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and cytomegalovirus? What is their behaviour related to these infectious diseases? And which demographical characteristics are related to risk behaviour?
• What is the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis among pregnant women aged less than 30 years, and their partners in the Netherlands and which risk factors for having a Chlamydia trachomatis infection can be identified?
• What kind of orally provided information about toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and cytomegalovirus do primary care midwives give to their clients during the first consultation?
• What do midwives know about symptoms and pregnancy and neonatal outcomes due to Chlamydia trachomatis and what are their current screening practices for Chlamydia trachomatis?

Relevantie

Literature suggests that pregnant women do not always receive enough information about infectious disease prevention from their prenatal care provider. In order to be able to change their behaviour, pregnant women should be aware of the methods to prevent infections. At this moment, it is unknown whether primary care midwives in the Netherlands counsel their patients appropriately.
With regard to Chlamydia trachomatis, international studies show high prevalence rates of chlamydia trachomatis in pregnant women and countries as the USA, Australia, Germany and Estonia already have screening guidelines for pregnant women. Data on screening rates in the Netherlands are lacking.