Birthing and "being there" : women's satisfaction with childbirth and maternity care
| dc.contributor.author | MacLean-Alley, Beverly Anne | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-14T22:33:40Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-08-14T22:33:40Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 1995 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 1995 | |
| dc.degree.department | Department of Sociology | |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Arts M.A. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis examines birthing patients' views of maternity care in the Greater Victoria area. Although there is considerable sociological research on the work of medical practitioners and midwives, less data exist on patient satisfaction with their maternity careĀgivers. This gap in the literature is particularly significant given that maternity care is now under review by provincial governments across the country. Legislation to make midwifery an option for all birthing women has already been passed in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. In light of these changes, it is timely to examine patients' perspectives of formal care-givers from the prenatal through to the postpartum phase of the birthing process. The primary objective of this research was to explore patient satisfaction with the quality of maternity care they received. I argue for the necessity of inductive research that grounds birthing knowledge in the lived experience of birthing women themselves. Data which are grounded in the lived experience necessitate the employment of a qualitative research method. Therefore, in-depth interviews were the chosen method for data collection, with the overall goal of giving voice to respondents. Twelve maternity patients of various socio-economic backgrounds in the Greater Victoria area were interviewed in an attempt to understand their level of satisfaction with the maternity services they received. Six had received care from a physician and six from a midwife. The interviews focused on the experiences of each respondent and her family during the nine prenatal months, during labour and delivery, and in the postpartum period. This research was funded in part by the British Columbia Health Research Foundation (BCHRF #ST19(93) and #ST23(94)). A comparison of midwifery and physician services helped further under landing of: (1) the types of patient services offered by each maternity practitioner under study; (2) the appropriateness, from the patients' point of view, of the care provided by physicians and midwives; and (3) the overall satisfaction of birthing families with the types of maternity services rendered. Emerging from my study is the finding that there are similarities and differences between the levels of satisfaction of two groups of women who used either physicians or midwives as their main care-givers. The two main differences between my group of respondents were: (I) care-givers "being there" for their patients throughout the reproductive and birthing process. Respondents in the midwife group reported their midwives as "being there" to a much greater degree than did respondents in the physician group; (2) satisfaction with the care received in the postnatal phase, particularly when the women returned home and were alone with their new baby. The transition to motherhood was much more stressful for the women whose main care-giver were physicians. These women often felt unable to cope, lonely and unsure of their mothering abilities. The women who had the support of a privately hired midwife, by contrast, were much more comfortable with their new parenting role, not only because their midwife would come to the house to check their recovery and the newborn, but because they were also available by telephone at any time, day or night. Overall , midwives' patients appeared to be more satisfied with the care they received. It is important to understand which services respondents found useful and the reasons why. This could help ensure that, in the future, the services rendered are as efficient, effective and supportive of birthing families as possible. Both midwives and physicians should be informed if their services are satisfactory or which part of their services could be improved. The findings from this research project contribute sociological insights on the factors that affect quality care for birthing families. Hopefully they will contribute to new provincial health care policies which will improve the maternity care available for birthing families. | |
| dc.format.extent | 156 pages | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1828/18814 | |
| dc.rights | Available to the World Wide Web | en_US |
| dc.title | Birthing and "being there" : women's satisfaction with childbirth and maternity care | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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