Optibirth ICANBIRTH

ICANBIRTH App to advance scientific knowledge for improving maternity care.

Welcome to the ICANBIRTH Android application. This App is been created especially for you to do two things. The first one is to help mothers ( in consultation with doctors and midwives ) decide if vaginal birth after C-section ( called VBAC ) or repeat C-section is right for them; the second one is to help them to carefully plan their next birth experience.

ICANBIRTH App consists of 3 questionnaires:

"My Birth Story"

"My Birth Thoughts"

"My Birth Plan"

Mother can easily compile each one of them after logging in.

The aim of the Optibirth project is to improve maternal health service delivery, and optimise childbirth, by increasing vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) through enhanced patient-centred maternity care across Europe.

Using a cluster randomised trial in Ireland, Germany and Italy, with 15 clusters of 94 women, the OptiBIRTH study will attempt to increase VBAC rates from 33 to 53% through increased women-centred care and women’s involvement in their care, making savings of €2m for every 100,000 births in future. The intervention involves evidence-based education of women, information for clinicians, introduction of communities of practice (women and clinicians sharing knowledge), opinion leaders, audit and peer review of CSs in each site, and joint decision-making by women and clinicians.

Expected results:

The project, through meaningful women-centred care, will influence EU health policymaking by increasing VBAC rates in at least three participating countries, Ireland, Italy and Germany.

This project arose from the work of the TCD School of Nursing and Midwifery Maternity Research Group, COST Action ISO907 (Childbirth Cultures, Consequences: Creating a Dynamic EU Framework for Optimal Maternity Care), and the European Science Foundation workshop.