Abstract

The provision of maternity services in the UK is increasingly consumer-driven. This paper reports the findings of a pilot study to identify factors which are important to women in childbirth and whether these factors differ in the postnatal period when compared with those ascertained antenatally. It was a comparative survey using a self-complete questionnaire given to women at two time intervals, 34 weeks gestation and 10 days postpartum. Two hundred and nineteen women who attended the antenatal clinic at 34 weeks gestation were approached and 217 agreed to participate in the study, of which 136 were expecting their first baby and 81 were expecting their second baby. The results showed that women change their minds regarding their priorities for care when asked antenatally compared with postnatally. Therefore, maternity services should be sensitive to these changing needs and be able to respond with relative ease to the changing demands and expectations of the childbearing woman and her family.