Women’s agenda for the improvement of childbirth care: Evaluation of the Babies Born Better survey data set in Spain

Abstract

Background: Public patient involvement (PPI) generates knowledge about the health-illness process through the incorporation of people's experiences and priorities. The Babies Born Better (BBB) survey is a pan-European online questionnaire that can be used as a PPI tool for preliminary and consultative forms of citizens' involvement. The purpose of this research was to identify which practices support positive birth experiences and which ones women want changed. Methods: The BBB survey was distributed in virtual communities of practice and through social networks. The version launched in Spain was used to collect data in 2014 and 2015 from women who had given birth in the previous 5 years. A descriptive, quantitative analysis was applied to the sociodemographic data. Two openended questions were analyzed by qualitative content analysis using a deductive and inductive codification process. Results: A total of 2841 women participated. 41.1% of the responses concerned the category "Care received and experienced," followed by "Specific interventions and procedures" (26.6%), "Involved members of care team" (14.2%), and "Environmental conditions" (9%). Best practices were related to how care is provided and received, and the main areas for improvement referred to specific interventions and procedures. Conclusions: This survey proved a useful tool to map the best and poorest practices reported. The results suggest a need for improvement in some areas of childbirth care. Women's reports on negative experiences included a wide range of routine clinical interventions, avoidable procedures, and the influence exerted by professionals on their decision-making.

Making maternity and neonatal care personalised in the COVID-19 pandemic: results from the Babies Born Better Survey in the UK and the Netherlands

“…The B3 survey has been run since February 2014, with an overall response to date of over 97,000 women in 25 languages from 86 countries [15-19]. The third version of the survey has been open from June 2020 (with a planned closure date of June 2022).…”

“…The B3 survey has been run since February 2014, with an overall response to date of over 97,000 women in 25 languages from 86 countries [15][16][17][18][19]…”

“…indicate that women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a lack of support before, during and after childbirth. For some women this was associated with fewer staff being available, or by shorter or more distant contacts with staff due to COVID-19 social distancing measures: 'When I unexpectedly laboured I did not receive enough care waiting for my COVID test and labouring waiting for C section.' ('What do you think could have made your experience better?…”

Making maternity and neonatal care personalised in the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the Babies Born Better survey in the UK and the Netherlands

“…The B3 survey has been run since February 2014, with an overall response to date of over 97,000 women in 25 languages from 86 countries [18][19][20][21][22]. The third version of the survey has been open from June 2020 (with a planned closure date of June 2022).…”

Determinants of respectful care in midwifery

“…They are at least as important as the objectively measurable aspects of perinatal care. The social climate of the services provided is also the area where women ask for improvements most often (Benet et al, 2020). A woman's right to quality and kind care provided with appropriate skill and knowledge has been highlighted by various women's and children's rights organisations, e.g., The International Childbirth Initiative (ICI) (Costanian et al, 2016;Kumbani et al, 2012;Tunçalp et al, 2015;Ziabakhsh et al, 2018) and belongs to the priorities in the field of public health.…”