Anna Davies-Barrett

INTRODUCTION Alcohol is a component cause for numerous disease and injury conditions [1]. Alcohol use is associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including ischaemic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, atrial fibrillation and flutter, cardiomyopathies and stroke [1]. Alcohol is also classified as a group 1 carcinogen [2] and is causally associated with numerous types of cancer including: pharyngeal, laryngeal, oesophageal, colorectal, liver and breast cancers [1].

1 Introduction Less than half of births in the UK are spontaneous vaginal births [1]. For many women, unless a caesarean birth (CB) is indicated, a vaginal birth is the presumed choice [2]. This assumed preference may have contributed to antenatal information about vaginal birth being inconsistent and insufficient [3]. Having greater knowledge about birth may influence women's decisions and improve experiences [4]. There is interest in developing decision aids to support birth choices [5-8].

1 Introduction Humans produce five antibody isotypes (IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM) as part of the adaptive immune response, each with different effector functions [1]. IgD is the least well-understood in terms of both its structure and function. Recent evidence has pointed to a role for IgD in mucosal immunity. In humans, 20%–25% of B cells in the upper respiratory mucosa are IgD+IgM− and secrete IgD [2].