Women's and care providers' perspectives of quality prenatal care: a qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

Background: Much attention has been given to the adequacy of prenatal care use in promoting healthy outcomes for women and their infants. Adequacy of use takes into account the timing of initiation of prenatal care and the number of visits. However, there is emerging evidence that the quality of prenatal care may be more important than adequacy of use. The purpose of our study was to explore women's and care providers' perspectives of quality prenatal care to inform the development of items for a new instrument, the Quality of Prenatal Care Questionnaire. We report on the derivation of themes resulting from this first step of questionnaire development. Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 pregnant women and 40 prenatal care providers recruited from five urban centres across Canada. Data were analyzed using inductive open and then pattern coding. The final step of analysis used a deductive approach to assign the emergent themes to broader categories reflective of the study's conceptual framework.

Maternal Acculturation and the Prenatal Care Experience

“…Of the 1332 women in the study, we restricted the analytic sample to 1243 women who had complete information for all (4) Made patient feel that following their advice would make a difference in her health and the health of her baby, made patient feel that her everyday activities (e.g., diet, lifestyle) would make a difference in her pregnancy, told her what she could do to take care of herself during pregnancy, and told her how to pay attention to her symptoms and when to call the doctor Explanations (2) Gave patient enough information about her health problems and made sure she understood answers to her questions Decision-making Patient-centered decision making (3)…”

“…Research studies have focused on the adequacy of prenatal care use (the timing of initiation and the number of visits) as a way of mitigating adverse pregnancy outcomes but adequacy does not measure the content or quality of care. 2 Timely and frequent prenatal care visits are important for improving pregnancy outcomes, but the quality of care is also important. 3 From 1970 to 2004, use of prenatal care has improved in the US, but health disparities in prenatal care use and perinatal outcomes have persisted.…”

Being in an oasis: a restorative and reassuring place - women’s experiences of a valuable antenatal diabetes midwifery consultation

“…An interview study among 40 pregnant women and their prenatal care providers 7 revealed that a trustful and meaningful relationship was important during prenatal care; this theme was recurrent throughout the data. A respectful attitude, emotional support, an approachable interaction style, and taking time were also important, as were information sharing, continuity of care, non-medicalization of pregnancy, and a woman-centered approach.…”

The Provision of Clinical and Non-Clinical Maternal and Child Health Services: Does Public Health Joint Production Matter

“…Lastly, the scope of nonclinical maternal and child services is limited to services that encourage healthy behaviors for maternal age and pregnant women. However, early identification of unhealthy behaviors, such as tobacco use, unsafe sex, and inadequate nutrition and unhealthy weight among women, may prevent infant death or disability and enable children to reach their full potential [19]. More research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these delivery systems on maternal and child health outcomes.…”