Participation of expectant mothers in decision making in maternity care: results of a population-based survey

The purpose of the study was to acquire knowledge of the opportunities that expectant mothers had to participate in decision making regarding their care in maternity clinics during their last pregnancy. The study is a part of a larger national survey ‘Family planning services in Finland’ carried out...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of advanced nursing 1998-07, Vol.28 (1), p.21-29
Main Authors: Pelkonen, Marjaana, Perälä, Marja-Leena, Vehviläinen-Julkunen, Katri
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
client participation
Decision Making
Female
Finland
Humans
Maternal health care
Maternal Health Services - trends
Maternal-Child Nursing - trends
maternity care
Nursing
Participation
Patient Participation - trends
Patient Satisfaction
Pregnancy
Pregnant women
primary health care
Public Health Nursing - trends
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:The purpose of the study was to acquire knowledge of the opportunities that expectant mothers had to participate in decision making regarding their care in maternity clinics during their last pregnancy. The study is a part of a larger national survey ‘Family planning services in Finland’ carried out by the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health. The rationale for the study were the known benefits of participation in one's care and its emphasis in health policy documents. The subjects were a random sample of women aged between 18 and 44. The response rate was 73% (n=1289). The data were gathered by a mailed questionnaire and analysed statistically. According to the results mothers had fairly good opportunities to participate in decision making. However, there were statistically significant differences in opportunities between the women. The mothers who were most satisfied were aged 25–29 years, lived in a permanent relationship, had 12 years of basic education and had three children. Opportunities to participate in care have improved from the 1970s to the 1990s. The results have many implications for the development of nursing practice in maternity clinics and the deepening of the knowledge base in nursing education. The study, being the first national survey on this topic, also gives suggestions for further studies.
ISSN:0309-2402
1365-2648
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2648.1998.00765.x