Content of antenatal care: Does it prepare women for birth?
OBJECTIVE
clinical guidelines for antenatal care recommend informing women about birth. The aim of this study was to explore the content of antenatal care from women's perspective and to establish whether they consider information on birth to be sufficient.


METHODS
the data was gathered in a longitudinal, cross-sectional cohort study known as The Childbirth and Health Study in Iceland. The study group consisted of 765 women attending antenatal care at 26 urban and rural health care centres in Iceland, during the year 2009-2010. They participated by replying to two questionnaires, at 16 gestational weeks and six months after birth. The questions covered objective and subjective aspects of antenatal care, pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.


RESULTS
the majority (87%) of the women want to be informed about birth in the antenatal phase of care, and 41% reported 5-6 months post partum that too little time had been spent on this issue, by health care professionals. Post partum, mode of delivery affected women's estimated time spent on information in pregnancy, with women who had planned caesarean section being most satisfied with the time spent on antenatal information about birth. Women who experienced their birth as difficult or very difficult were more likely to report that insufficient time had been spent on information than women who had experienced their birth as easy or very easy.


CONCLUSIONS
antenatal care can play an important role in preparing women for birth. This study shows that information about birth provided during pregnancy is insufficient from women's perspective, although some groups of women do report being more satisfied with this information. The way that this segment of antenatal care is provided leaves room for improvement.
University of Iceland, Faculty of Nursing, Department of Midwifery, Iceland; Landspitali University Hospital, Women's Clinic, Iceland. Electronic address: helgagot@hi.is.
Helga
H
Gottfredsdottir
Landspitali University Hospital, Women's Clinic, Iceland; University of Iceland, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Iceland.
Þóra
Þ
Steingrímsdóttir
University of Iceland, Faculty of Education, Iceland.
Amalía
A
Björnsdóttir
Landspitali University Hospital, Women's Clinic, Iceland.
Embla Ýr
EÝ
Guðmundsdóttir
University of Iceland, Faculty of Nursing, Department of Midwifery, Iceland.
Hildur
H
Kristjánsdóttir
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards*; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009721:Nurse Midwives / Q000592:standards; D010146:Pain / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching / Q000592:standards; D013997:Time Factors
Antenatal care; Birth; Content of care; Guidelines; Information; Women's views