Expectations of post-partum care among pregnant women living in the north of Sweden.
OBJECTIVE
To describe expectations of post-partum care among pregnant women living in the north of Sweden and whether personality determines preference for care systems. The time for post-partum care on maternity wards has been reduced in Western countries. This, along with the reduction in special medical treatments offered and the closure of small hospitals has affected pregnant women and their families.


METHODS
Data was extracted from a questionnaire and a personality instrument (SSP) that were completed during November 2002.


METHODS
In the northernmost county of Sweden, 140 pregnant women completed the questionnaire; of these, 120 completed the SSP instrument.


RESULTS
Of the women who participated, 61.3% wanted to be discharged 72 hours after childbirth, irrespective of the distance between the hospital and home. To have access to maternity ward staff and the decision to be discharged were described as being the most important issues in maternity ward care. The infant's father was expected to be the most important person in the post-partum period.


CONCLUSIONS
Women ranked the opportunity to decide for themselves when to be discharged from the maternity ward as important, which can be interpreted as a strong signal that the women want to be in control of the care they receive. Midwives have to focus more on the woman and her family's individual needs, and to include the father as a person who also needs support and to provide resources for him.
Lindberg
Inger
I
Division of Nursing, Department of Health Science, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden. inger.lindberg@ltu.se
Ohrling
Kerstin
K
Christensson
Kyllike
K
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008427:Maternal Health Services; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden