Abstract
Women participating in a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of having access to and holding their own obstetric records were asked an open-ended question about their feelings of involvement in the study. The 247 responses (92% of the sample) were very positive. They discussed the personal advantages to themselves and their wish to help others, both at the time of the study and in the future. Some problems of participation were mentioned. The women stressed the importance which they attached to the feeding back of the results of the trial to them as participants.