IMAgiNE EURO

Principal investigator for the entire project is Dr Emanuelle Pessa Valente, PhD, Obstetrician, WHO CC, Italy. Principal investigator in Sweden is Professor Helen Elden. The Swedish project group also includes Karolina Lindén at Sahlgrenska Academy and Dr. Mehreen Zaighem at Lund University/Skåne University Hospital.

In 2024, we will issue a new survey to women who gave birth after 2022 to investigate the quality of maternity and newborn care after the pandemic. Currently, 27 countries participate

Participating countries are:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bosnia/Herzegovina
• Cyprus
• Croatia
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Italy
• Israel
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

Publications

1. Batram-Zantvoort S, Miani C^, Mariani I, Pessa Valente E ^,, Covi,B, de La Rochebrochard E, Elden H. et al.  on behalf of IMAgiNE EURO Study Group. (2023). Associations between the presence of maternity care professionals and companion of choice during the Covid-19 pandemic and positive birth perception: a cross-sectional study in 20 countries of the WHO European Region. Accepted for BIRTH
2. Pessa Valente E,  Mariani I , Bomben A, Morano S, Gemperle M, Otelea  MR, Miani C, Elden H […] Lazerini M. Lazzerini M; Improving MAternal Newborn carE in the EURO Region (IMAgiNE EURO) Study Group. Health workers’ perspectives on the quality of maternal and newborn health care around the time of childbirth: Results of the Improving Maternal Newborn carE in the EURO Region (IMAgiNE EURO) project in 12 countries of the World Health Organization European Region. J Glob Health 2024;14:04164. doi: 10.7189/jogh.14.04164
3. I, Sacks E, Arendt M, Artzi-Medvedik R, Otelea M, Rodrigues C, Costa R, Linden K, Zaigham M, Elden H, Lincetto O, Drandic D, Pessa Valente E, Covi  B, Lazzerini M, Mariani I. On behalf of the participating countries in IMAGINE Study group. Factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic in 12 WHO European Region countries: Findings from a multinational cross-sectional data analysis. International Breastfeeding Journal. 17.1 (2022): 83. Web
4. Miani C, Wandschneider L, Batram-Zantvoort S, Covi B, Elden H, Nedberg I, Drglin Z, Pumpure E, Costa R, Rozée V, Otelea M, Drandić D, Radetic J, Abderhalden-Zellweger J, Ćerimagić A, Arendt M, Mariani I, Linden K, Ponikvar B, Jakovicka D, Dias H, Ruzicic J, de Labrusse C, Valente E, Zaigham M, Bohinec A, Rezeberga D, Barata C, Pfund C, Sacks E, Lazzerini M, on behalf of the IMAgiNE EURO study group. Individual and country-level variables associated with the medicalization of birth: multi-level analyses of the IMAgiNE EURO data in 15 countries of the WHO European Region. Accepted in International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics (IJGO). Publication issue 155(S1) for November 2022.
5. Lazzerini M, Valente E, Covi B, Rozée V, Costa R, Otelea M, Abderhalden-Zellweger A,Węgrzynowska M, Linden K, Arendt M, Brigidi S, Miani C, Pumpure E, Radetic J, Drandic D, Cerimagic A, Nedberg I, Liepinaitienė A, Rodrigues C, Labrusse C, Baranowska B, Zaigham M, Castañeda L, Batram-Zantvoort S, Jakovicka D, Ruzicic J, Juciūtė S, Santos T, Gemperle M, Tataj-Puzyna U, Elden H, Mizgaitienė M, Lincetto O, Sacks E, Mariani I, on behalf of IMAgiNE EURO Study Group. Rate of instrumental births and caesarean section and quality of maternal and newborn health care in private versus public facilities: findings of the IMAgiNE EURO study in 16 countries. Accepted for publication in International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics (IJGO) for November 2022.
6. Costa R, Rodrigues C, Dias H, Covi B, Mariani I, Valente E, Zaigham M, Elden H et al. for the IMAgiNE EURO Study Group. Quality of maternal and newborn care around the time of childbirth for migrant vs. non-migrant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings of the IMAgiNE EURO study in 11 countries of the WHO European Region. Submitted to International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics.
7. Lazzerini M, Costa R, Mariani I, Skirnisdottir Vik E, Elden H, Linden K, Zaigham M, Liepinaitienė A, Arendt M, Drglin S, Sacks E, Lincetto O, Pessa Valente E. Science and beyond science in the reporting of quality of facility-based maternal and newborn care during the COVID-19 pandemic—Authors’ reply The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, Volume 20, September 2022, Pages 100488
8. Zaigham, M, Linden K, Sengpiel V, Mariani I, Pessa Valente E, Covi B, Lazzerini M**, Elden H**. "Large Gaps in the Quality of Healthcare Experienced by Swedish Mothers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study Based on WHO Standards." Women and Birth: Journal of the Australian College of Midwives 35.6 (2022): 619-27. Web. **shared senior authorship.  
9. Pessa Valente, E, Covi, B,  Mariani I,  Morano S, Otalea M, Nanu I, Iuliana Nanu M, Elden H, Linden K, Zaigham M, Skirnisdottir Vik E, Kongslien, S, Nedberg I, Costa R, Rodrigues C, Dias H, Drandić D, Kurbanović, M, Sacks, E, Muzigaba M, Lincetto O, Lazzerini M, Ćerimagic A, Virginie R, DeLa Rochebrochard E, Löfgren K, Miani C, Batram-Zantvoort S, Wandschneider L, Verardi G, Zanin B, Chertok I, Artzi-Medvedik R, Pumpure E, Rezeberga D, Vaska A, Jakovicka D, Rudzīte P, Ērmane E, Paula Vilcāne K, Arendt M, Tasch B, Baranowska B, Tataj-Puzyna U, Węgrzynowska M, Barata C, Santos T, Yarotskaya E, Radetić, J Ružičić, Zalka Drglin J, Mihevc Ponikvar B, Bohinec A, Brigidi S, Martín Castañeda L, Canales Viver, A Sengpiel V, De Labrusse C, Abderhalden A, Pfund A, Thorn T. "WHO Standards-based Questionnaire to Measure Health Workers’ Perspective on the Quality of Care around the Time of Childbirth in the WHO European Region: Development and Mixed-methods Validation in Six Countries." BMJ Open 12.4 (2022): E056753. Web.
10. Lazzerini M, B Covi B, Mariani I, Drglin Z, M Arendt M, Hersoug Nedberg I, Elden H, Costa R, Drandić D, Radetić J, Ruxandra Otalea M, Miani C, Brigidi S, Rozee V, Mihevc Ponikvar B, Tasch B, Kongslien S, Linden K, Barata C, Kurbanović M, Ružičić J, Batram-Zantvoort S, Martín Castañeda L, de La Rochebrochard E, Bohinec A, Skirnisdottir Vik E, Zaigham M,  Santos T, Wandschneider L, Canales Viver A, Ćerimagić A, Sacks E, Muzigaba M, Berdzuli N, Lincetto O, Pessa Valente E on behalf of IMAgiNE EURO study group. Women’s views on the quality of hospital maternal and newborn care around the time of childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic: multicountry cross-sectional study in the WHO European Region. The Lancet Regional Health –Europe.  Volume 20, September 2022, Pages 100487, 2021.:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2021.100268