IntroductionNational guidelines advise that clinicians caring for women post-pregnancy should give women opportunities to discuss contraception, regardless of pregnancy outcome, and provide contraception to women who choose to take up a method. This study aimed to explore knowledge, views and needs of Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU) clinicians around discussing and offering contraception and discussing pregnancy intendedness with women after early pregnancy loss using a qualitative approach.MethodsSemi-structured, audio-recorded interviews with 11 clinicians from a single regional EPU in Edinburgh, Scotland. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.ResultsClinicians were reluctant to discuss contraception as they believed women would find the topic overwhelming and distressing. Thoughts on discussing pregnancy intendedness were polarised; some considered it insensitive, and others essential. Barriers to discussing contraception and providing it were numerous and included time pressure, and inadequate knowledge and training on contraception. Participants suggested training on contraception, closer working with sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, and availability of information on contraception specifically aimed at women who have experienced an early pregnancy loss could facilitate discussions and method provision.ConclusionsEPU clinicians require ongoing training and support to be effective at discussing pregnancy intendedness and discussing and providing post-pregnancy contraception. This will require close working with SRH services and development of sensitive information around contraception for women experiencing an early pregnancy loss.

Breech presentation, i.e. the abnormal lie of a foetus longitudinally with the buttocks closest to the mother’s cervix, is a common issue affecting up to 5% of women during delivery resulting in poor outcomes such as traumatic labour, infection and increased neonatal mortality. Currently, abdominal palpation is the screening method of choice for breech presentation; however, 15,000 breech presentations remain undiagnosed across England annually. While routine ultrasonography has been suggested, its cost-effectiveness and scalability remain concerning, especially in low/middle-income countries. Various algorithms have been applied to maternal trans-abdominal ECGs to obtain foetal ECGs, but current applications only allow heart rates, congenital heart defects, hypoxia, and foetal distress to be identified. The use of ECG is proposed to determine foetal position as breech foetuses tend to display QRS complexes in a similar pattern to the maternal trace, whereas cephalic foetuses would demonstrate inverted QRS complexes. ECGs are cost-effective, safe and do not require highly skilled technicians to operate, which makes it an ideal starting platform for the development of a device with high sensitivity and reasonable diagnostic speeds to identify breech foetuses. Future considerations include the use of artificial intelligence to increase diagnostic accuracy and development of a patient-facing mobile application.

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