Dimensions of childbirth care associated with maternal satisfaction among low-risk Chilean women

Abstract

The authors of this study aimed to describe the level of maternal satisfaction during labor reported by a national sample of low-risk childbearing women in Chile by identifying the dimensions of intrapartum care most determinant for overall satisfaction. Maternal satisfaction was measured in the postpartum period with an instrument previously validated in Chile. Almost half of the participants (49.4%) reported having optimal satisfaction, 29% adequate, and 22% worse. Treatment of women by professionals and the physical environment were the most important dimension predicting of maternal satisfaction, consistent with findings from developing countries emphasizing patient-provider interaction during labor as a key component of birth care quality.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from the Ethical Committee for Research on Human Beings at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile (# 075-2012), August 31st 2012.

Author contributions

All authors participated in the design of the study and were responsible for the supervision of data collection as well as analyzing the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

Financial support was gratefully received from CONICYT-Chile (Comisión Nacional de Investigación Cientifica y Tecnología del Misterio de Educación de Chile), National Fund for Health Research, under Grant FONIS-SA12I2079. The funders had no role in the study design, collection of data, interpretation and analysis, nor any role in the selection of journal in which to publish.