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Determination of who benefits most from prenatal class attendance

University of British Columbia

A review of numerous studies that had been conducted on the subject of prenatal classes revealed two important themes: the inconclusiveness of prenatal class effectiveness and the apparent predominance of middle class women among prenatal class attenders. The main purpose of this study was to determine which expectant women appeared to derive the most benefit from attending prenatal classes and to determine what it was that most affected health outcome - attendance at prenatal classes or the characteristics of the mother attending classes. Two hundred and twenty-two British Columbian mothers who had recently delivered infants constituted the study sample. The study focuses on three variable areas: prenatal class atttendance factor, personal characteristics of the mothers, and health-related outcomes in terms of health knowledge, behaviour and status. A questionnaire was developed specifically for this study and was issued to the mothers in the sample. The bulk of the data collected derived from the questionnaire responses. Both a mailed and interview format were used. Other data came from official Birth Notices. The study demonstrated that with regard to a few health-related outcomes, for example, use of labour breathing techniques and infant birthweight over 3000 grams, women who were multiparous, of minority group status and had average education appeared to gain the most from attending prenatal classes. It is not known if parity, ethnicity and education of mothers are characteristics that might predict benefit in terms of other outcomes. Within the variable sets studied, prenatal class attendance was shown to be the strongest predictor of visits to the physician, infant complications and family planning. Other outcomes, for example, use of labour breathing techniques, delivery mode and infant feeding practice, however, were better predicted by mother's personal characteristics, i.e., parity, language, education and age. In no situation did any of the variables examined make appreciable effects in the outcomes measured. Despite the weak associations and lack of associations demonstrated between prenatal class attendance and outcomes, the sample mothers cited what they thought were benefits arising from participation in classes. Foremost among these was the social/emotional support mothers received from fellow class participants. As well, knowledge gained about pregnancy, and labour and delivery were found to be categorized as useful by many. Recommendations resulting from this study centre around improving outreach efforts to women not attending classes. Also, the need to elicit constant feedback from class participants about class content was stressed.

Text

2010-06-30

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26081

Health Care and Epidemiology

University of British Columbia

Graduate