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Evaluation of an Antenatal Education Programme: Characteristics of Attenders, Changes in Knowledge and Satisfaction of Participants
Author(s) -
Redman Selina,
Oak Stephanie,
Booth Peggy,
Jensen Jean,
Saxton Anne
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.1991.tb02809.x
Subject(s) - medicine , family medicine , logistic regression , health education , prenatal care , nursing , population , public health , environmental health
EDITORIAL COMMENT: As the authors of this paper point out there have been only 5 published studies exploring the operation of antenatal education programmes in Australia and New Zealand ‐ yet most obstetricians support the concept of antenatal education and recommend it to patients, especially their private patients. This paper provides the sort of data we need and will interest readers ‐ reading it will hopefully encourage obstetricians to support further studies of the best ways to deliver antenatal education to our patients and their partners/family members. Summary: The evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of antenatal education programmes has been identified as a priority in improving maternity services in Australia. Two hundred and ninety four primiparas completed a brief questionnaire in the 3 days following delivery; 82% of the women surveyed attended antenatal education classes. Women were less likely to attend if they were single, younger than 26 years, had lower levels of education, received care during pregnancy from the antenatal clinic and did not have private health insurance. Attenders at antenatal education were also more likely to plan on breast feeding, to be nonsmokers and to know of a greater number of community organizations to help new mothers. However, logistic regression analyses indicated that, with the exception of number of community organizations known, these differences were attributable to demographic differences between attenders and nonattenders. One hundred and forty two women and their partners attending the major provider of antenatal education classes in Newcastle were surveyed prior to and following classes. Significant increases in knowledge were evident following the programme among both women and their partners. Satisfaction with the programme was high as indicated by a large proportion of respondents attending all 4 classes, most programme components being reported as useful or very useful and only a small proportion of respondents experiencing problems with the programme.