Accessible summary  There is little information about pregnancy for people with learning disabilities. This means it is hard to make good choices.  The pregnancy support pack has easy to read information about pregnancy and birth.  Women with a learning disability told us the pack helped them to understand information their midwife gave them.  Midwives told us the pack helped them to work better with women with a learning disability. SummaryThe literature agrees that an increasing number of people who have a learning disability have children. This group of parents are expected to fit into existing health services and are disadvantaged when presented with complex information regarding pregnancy and birth. There is a dearth of information in relation to accessible information on antenatal care and consent to medical procedures for parents with learning disabilities, despite this being a recommendation by best practice guidelines on working with parents who have a learning disability (SCLD, 2009; Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills (DoH DfES) 2007; Department of Health 2009). This project aims to redress this balance by developing accessible resources for a typical pregnancy. Thematic analysis is used to evaluate the accessibility and acceptability of the resources from a professional and service user perspective, and identified themes are discussed. Results suggest that adapted resources are helpful in supporting parents with learning disabilities to access essential information about their pregnancy and to make informed decisions about their care. They support the interaction between parents and maternity services, resulting in a more effective and efficient care process. Implications for further research and developments are discussed.

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This article considers support programmes for direct entrant (DE) student transitions as a widening participation strategy. We reflect upon one induction and support project with 27 students transitioning from further education into the second year of undergraduate social science degree programmes in a Scottish university. We use focus group data to discuss what works (barriers to successful transitions, project successes and limitations) and primarily who works; how responsibility for supporting DE student transitions is distributed and which students benefit. Original findings confirm existing evidence that becoming an 'independent learner' is a challenge for DE students. However, analysis problematizes and significantly expands existing understandings of relationships with staff and peer support, and contributes new insight into how the materiality and everyday logistics of the university relate to DE student transitions. We argue for more institutionally embedded approaches to supporting student transitions, including resourcing academic staff to develop and provide this support.

Body dissatisfaction (BD) is a highly prevalent feature amongst females in society, with the majority of individuals regarding themselves to be overweight compared to their personal ideal, and very few self-describing as underweight. To date, explanations of this dramatic pattern have centred on extrinsic social and media factors, or intrinsic factors connected to individuals’ knowledge and belief structures regarding eating and body shape, with little research examining links between BD and basic cognitive mechanisms. This paper reports a correlational study in which visual and executive cognitive processes that could potentially impact on BD were assessed. Visual memory span and self-rated visual imagery were found to be predictive of BD, alongside a measure of inhibition derived from the Stroop task. In contrast, spatial memory and global precedence were not related to BD. Results are interpreted with reference to the influential multi-component model of working memory.

Body dissatisfaction (BD) is a highly prevalent feature amongst females in society, with the majority of individuals regarding themselves to be overweight compared to their personal ideal, and very few self-describing as underweight. To date, explanations of this dramatic pattern have centred on extrinsic social and media factors, or intrinsic factors connected to individuals’ knowledge and belief structures regarding eating and body shape, with little research examining links between BD and basic cognitive mechanisms. This paper reports a correlational study in which visual and executive cognitive processes that could potentially impact on BD were assessed. Visual memory span and self-rated visual imagery were found to be predictive of BD, alongside a measure of inhibition derived from the Stroop task. In contrast, spatial memory and global precedence were not related to BD. Results are interpreted with reference to the influential multi-component model of working memory.