The meetings of the support groups with midwives for pregnant women from Gorizia, Nova Gorica and Šempeter-Vrtojba, organized within the framework of the European project Salute-Zdravstvo, funded by the Interreg V-A Italy-Slovenija Program 2014-2020, will continue in a remote modality. Thanks to technology, pregnant women who participate in the EGTC GO project can continue to receive the support of midwives and other pregnant women, while staying safe at home. Before the outbreak of the Covid 19, the meetings of the support groups were held in Italian at the family counseling center (Consultorio familiare) Gorizia, and in Slovenian at the Splošna bolnišnica "Dr. Franca Derganca" Nova Gorica (Šempeter pri Gorici). The meetings with pregnant women are led by midwives with the participation of other professionals (physiotherapist, nutritionist and psychologist). During the meetings the participants deal with issues that correspond to the gestation period in which they find themselves, focusing on pregnancy, childbirth, after- childbirth period, first from the perspective of an expectant mother, the fetus and the future father and then from that of a mother, baby, father and family. The contents of the meetings include the physical, psychological and social aspects of individual health.

Sharing the pregnancy journey with midwives and other women is particularly important and in this particular emergency even more so: the risk is that women feel isolated and afraid of being alone, not being able to ask for help. For this reason, the support groups have been transferred online. The first meeting was attended by 8 women from Nova Gorica and Šempeter-Vrtojba and 8 women from Gorizia. The meetings will be divided in 4 groups based on the gestation periods. Each group is made up of women in the same gestation period, who will meet and confront once a month. The feedback collected in the first meetings will allow to better calibrate the duration of each meeting (which is currently one hour long) and possibly also adjust the number of participants. For information on courses in Italian,  contact the Gorizia Family Counseling Center (tel. 0481 592863); for information in in Slovenian language the gynecological clinic mag. Lara Beseničar Pregelj, dr. med, 1^st floor Zdravstveni dom Nova Gorica; the gynecological clinic Tina Polenčič, dr. med., Zdravstveni dom- section of Šempeter; or by e-mail: fizioloska.nosecnost@bolnisnica-go.si.

The gymnastics for pregnant women course will also be held online, starting from next week. Physical activity during pregnancy represents a healthy practice for the future mother. Exercise allows to maintain and strengthen muscle tone, including the pelvic floor, which will prove very useful during and after childbirth. Participating women will have the opportunity, by joining an ad hoc Facebook group, to see the videos dedicated to them and to do the exercises at home. They may also ask questions in both languages.

The Salute-Zdravstvo project "Building a network of cross-border health services" aims to enhance the offer and improve the delivery and quality of health and social services for the population living in the cross-border area of ​​the EGTC GO through a pilot journey of integration of the services and health structures involved.

Specifically, the project activities involve the collaboration of joint Italian-Slovenian working groups, in 5 distinct areas (a single booking system, mental health, autism, physiological pregnancy, social inclusion). The pregnancy activities consist in taking care of women with physiological pregnancy, activating innovative joint cross-border services based on European good practices. The physiological pregnancy action is implemented by the EGTC GO in collaboration with the Azienda per l’Assistenza Sanitaria n.2 “Bassa Friulana-Isontina” (now ASUGI), Zdravstveni dom Nova Gorica and Splošna bolnišnica "Dr. Franca Derganca Nova Gorica" (Šempeter pri Gorici hospital).