Page 20 - Zero for nine: Reducing alcohol use during pregnancy via health counselling and Internet-based computer-tailored feedback

Chapter 1
available on Dutch midwives’ alcohol advice. In the Netherlands, the midwife can be considered an important health professional for pregnant women as she is the first responsible health professional for the pregnant woman as long as there are no complications (Wiegers, Van der Velden, & Hingstman, 2005). Midwives provide care to 75% of all Dutch pregnant women at the beginning of their pregnancy (Wiegers, et al., 2005). According to the guidelines of the Royal Dutch Organization of Midwives (KNOV), midwives should recommend their clients to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy (de Boer & Zeeman, 2008). However, due to the lack of Dutch research, it is presently unclear whether Dutch midwives actually recommend alcohol abstinence. In addition, due to the differences between midwifery systems (McKay, 2004; Kateman & Herschderfer, 2005), it is unclear whether the difficulties experienced by midwives revealed in international studies are also apparent in the Dutch situation.
International research has also shown that pregnant women are dissatisfied with midwives’ alcohol advice (Jones, et al., 2011; Kesmodel & Schioler Kesmodel, 2002; Raymond, et al., 2009). Again, it is unclear whether this dissatisfaction is also present among Dutch pregnant women.
Finally, as partners of pregnant women are considered an important social influence in the prevention of prenatal alcohol use, it is important to know how they evaluate midwives’ alcohol advice. Unfortunately, no study, in the Netherlands or abroad, has thus far investigated whether partners are included in midwives’ alcohol advice and how they respond to such advice.
As more knowledge is needed on the current state of Dutch midwives’ alcohol advice, the present dissertation aimed to answer the following research questions:
6. What alcohol advice do Dutch midwives give?
7. Which difficulties do Dutch midwives experience with providing
alcohol abstinence advice?
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