Abstract
Background: Although prenatal care providers aim to prepare women for first childbirth, little research has explored retrospectively what birthing people would like to have known before first childbirth. Aim: To describe women's reports of what they would like to have known before first childbirth but feel they were not told. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the First Baby Study, a large prospective cohort study conducted in Pennsylvania, USA. Telephone interviews were conducted with 3006 women 1 month after their first childbirth. Women were first asked: “Was there anything that you would have liked to have known before your delivery that you were not told?”. If “yes” they were asked a second question: “Please tell me what you would have liked to have known before your delivery”. Analysis: A convergent mixed-methods analysis including descriptive analytics to compare characteristics of women by answers to the first question, and qualitative content analysis of women's open-ended answers to the second question. Findings: A total of 441 women (14.7%) reported there was something they would like to have known before their first childbirth. Women described that communication with care providers was their main concern. They would have liked a better understanding of their options before birth, more agency in decision-making, and more information about the topics of their body, their birth, their baby, and what to expect beyond birth. Conclusions: Results highlight important topics for childbirth education, and the impact of gaps in shared decision-making, patient–provider communication, and supportive care practices for first childbirth, especially where women have identified vulnerabilities.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 795-805 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Birth |
Volume | 51 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 The Author(s). Birth published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Keywords
- childbirth education
- continuity of patient care
- pregnancy
- prenatal education
- shared decision-making
- woman-centered care