title: Survey of women's experiences of care in a new freestanding midwifery unit in an inner city area of London, England. 1: Methods and women's overall ratings of care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to describe and compare women's choices and experiences of maternity care before and after the opening of the Barkantine Birth Centre, a new freestanding midwifery unit in an inner city area.
  
  
  METHODS
  telephone surveys undertaken in late pregnancy and about six weeks after birth in two separate time periods, Phase 1 before the birth centre opened and Phase 2 after it had opened.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tower Hamlets, a deprived inner city borough in east London, England, 2007-2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  620 women who were resident in Tower Hamlets and who satisfied the Barts and the London NHS Trust's eligibility criteria for using the birth centre. Of these, 259 women were recruited to Phase 1 and 361 to Phase 2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  women who satisfied the criteria for birth centre care and who booked antenatally for care at the birth centre were significantly more likely to rate their care as good or very good overall than corresponding women who also satisfied these criteria but booked initially at the hospital. Women who started labour care in spontaneous labour at the birth centre were significantly more likely to be cared for by a midwife they had already met, have one to one care in labour and have the same midwife with them throughout their labour. They were also significantly more likely to report that the staff were kind and understanding, that they were treated with respect and dignity and that their privacy was respected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  this survey in an inner city area showed that women who chose the freestanding midwifery unit care had positive experiences to report. Taken together with the findings of the Birthplace Programme, it adds further weight to the evidence in support of freestanding midwifery unit care for women without obstetric complications.
authors.affiliation: City University London, UK. Electronic address: A.J.Macfarlane@city.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Macfarlane
authors.affiliation: Barts Health NHS Trust, UK.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rocca-Ihenacho
authors.affiliation: City University London, UK.
authors.forename: Lyle R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: University of Keele, UK.
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016550:Birthing Centers / Q000191:economics; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008880:Midwifery / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D036801:Parturition / Q000523:psychology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Birth centre; Free-standing midwifery unit; Midwifery care; Service users׳ views