Session 2(c): Advancing Maternal and Reproductive Health in Rural and Northern Communities

October 23, 11:05am - 12:05am | Virtual, link to come 

This session will feature a series of oral presentations highlighting current research, evaluation and quality improvement projects. Each speaker will have 15 minutes to share their work, followed by 5 minutes for questions and discussion. Join us to hear in-depth presentations, gain new insights, and engage directly with presenters during the Q&A.

Zoom Information: 
https://unbc.zoom.us/j/63462826288?pwd=L5EEOAt6imhy7qY7FPJkwMBzygoZbN.1
Meeting ID: 634 6282 6288
Passcode: 316341

PRESENTATIONS: 

• Title: Pseudocyesis (false pregnancy)
  • Speaker: Bertha Chapoloko

  • Description: Pseudocyesis, or false pregnancy, remains a poorly understood and mismanaged condition in clinical practice. Despite extensive literature on it's psychological and physiological manifestations, there is a glaring disconnect between the healthcare providers to affected women and their actual needs. Emerging evidence - including patient testimonies - suggests that, current diagnosis, and treatment approaches may fail to address the underlying causes of pseudocyesis, leading to ineffective one even harmful interventions.

    A critical issue is the rigid adherence to conventional pseudocyesis literature which often dismisses patient narratives and alternative explanation. Many women report prolonged gestational periods (e.g., 15,16,18, or even 22 months) following a pseudocyesis diagnosis, with some attributing eventual childbirth to spiritual, or traditional healing interventions. Yet, healthcare providers frequently disregard these accounts, attributing them to delusions rather than, exploring potential misdiagnoses, or alternative etiologies may infact, involve overlooked medical, cultural, or psychological factors.
    Furthermore, the lack of patient-centered-care in pseudocyesis management exacerbates distress, as women feel unheard, and marginalized by the very professionals, meant to help them. The prevailing biomedical model often neglect the role of sociocultural beliefs, spiritual interventions, and traditional healing practices, that some patients credit for resolution. This disconnect not only diminishes trust in healthcare systems, but also perpetuate suffering by delaying appropriate care.
     
    
    Given these gaps, there is an urgent need to:
    1. Re-evaluate the diagnostic framework, for pseudocyesis to account for atypical presentations, and potential misclassification.
    2.Investigate the role of sociocultural, spiritual,and traditional healing practices, in cases, where, conventional medical interventions fail.
    3. Assess healthcare providers' biases, and their impact, on patient outcomes, in pseudocyesis management.
     
    This study seeks to bring these gaps by exploring the lived experiences of pseudocyesis patients, analyzing discrepancies between, medical assumptions, and patient realities, and proposing a more inclusive, evidence-based approach, to diagnosis and care. By doing so, we aim to improve clinical outcomes, and restore agency to women, whose voices have been systematically overlooked, in pseudocyesis research and practice.
    If published in PubMed-indexed journals, this research will challenge entrenched paradigms, advocate patient -centered care, and prompt a reevaluation of pseudocyesis, as a heterogeneous condition, rather than a rigid diagnostic category. The findings could revolutionize clinical guidelines, ensuring that future interventions align with patient' actual needs rather than outdated assumptions.
     
• Title: Supporting rural and remote maternity care through enhanced MaBAL services
  • Speaker: Lee Yeates
  • Description: This presentation highlights how the Real-Time Virtual Support (RTVS) Maternity and Babies Advice Line (MaBAL) partnered with two remote BC communities to strengthen perinatal care. Through a collaboratively designed chart review process, MaBAL supports local providers with peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, mentorship, and care planning. Evaluation findings show improved provider confidence, enhanced preventative care, reduced travel for Indigenous life-givers, and strengthened continuity of care—all rooted in relationships, cultural safety, and community-led priorities.
     
• Title: Seamless Transitions in Care: Developing and Piloting a New Process to Send Birth Records After Hospital Discharge
  • Speaker: Vanessa Salmons, Maureen Haley
  • Description: This presentation shares a quality improvement initiative to improve postpartum care transitions in Northern BC. A new digital process was piloted to securely transfer birth records from hospital to primary care teams, replacing inconsistent faxing and paper-based methods. Early results show improved timeliness, user satisfaction, and reduced delays, with further refinements underway to fully close the loop and ensure families are connected to care within 48 hours of discharge.

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