Authors (including presenting author) :
Chan LSL (1), Tang KY (1), Chung SFC (1)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kwong Wah Hospital
Introduction :
Childbearing and childbirth are one of the most important events in women’s lives. It results in a substantial psychological, emotional and physical impact on women. The Continuous Midwifery Care Team (CMC Team) has started serving normal low-risk women and providing women-centred care in Kwong Wah Hospital since 1999. Over the last two decades, a series of evidence-based initiatives for promoting normal childbirth has been launched. The effectiveness was explored by clinical outcomes using a self-administered questionnaire.
Objectives :
The aim of the study was to explore the clinical outcomes in terms of women's satisfaction and perception of their childbirth experience.
Methodology :
888 women, who had given birth from July to December 2014 in Kwong Wah Hospital, participated in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic characteristic, obstetric data, and satisfaction level of the participants. Different variables and childbirth experience were correlated by nonparametric tests.
Result & Outcome :
The results revealed that participation in decision making (>60%); help and support (>80%); explanation (>80%); time with midwife (>85%); attitude and respect (>85%); professional competency (>90%); early skin-to-skin contact (>90%); breastfeeding (>80%); privacy ~90%; and pain control (>55%) were the factors affecting childbirth experience most. For women's satisfaction, overcoming the labour process successfully (>90%); healthy and normal baby (>95%); experience matched their expectations (~75%); having good and positive childbirth experience (>85%) were factors found to have positive effect on the overview towards childbirth experience (p=0.000 to 0.003). The research results supported the CMC Team in providing evidence-based women-centred care through engaging women; facilitating them to make informed choice throughout the process; helping them to develop the birth plan in advance; providing relevant information and counselling individually to reduce anxiety during pregnancy and labour; prioritizing individual needs. The CMC Team maintains a high standard of care for women and their babies to ensure safe maternal and fetal outcomes. Women are satisfied with the care and having a positive childbirth experience. Evidenced-based practice is an important step for the unit toward mother-friendly.
