Listening to Mothers III - Childbirth Connection

1 Listening to Mothers III. SM. Pregnancy and Birth Report of the Third National Survey of Women's Childbearing Experiences Eugene R. Declercq Carol Sakala Maureen P. Corry Sandra Applebaum Ariel Herrlich May 2013. Recommended citation: Declercq ER, Sakala C, Corry MP, Applebaum S, Herrlich A. Listening to Mothers SM III: Pregnancy and Birth. New York: Childbirth Connection , May 2013. To obtain a file of this report and related resources, visit For help representing or interpreting survey results or other survey-related matters, please contact The authors and issuing organization declare that they have no proprietary, financial, professional, or other interest that could be construed as influencing the content of this report.

2 Childbirth Connection 260 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, NY 10016. P F Contents List of Tables & Figures .. III. Preface .. V. Major Survey Findings .. IX. Planning for Pregnancy and the Pregnancy Experience .. IX. Women's Experiences Giving Birth .. XI. Home with a New Baby .. XIV. Choice, Control, Knowledge, and Decision Making .. XIV. Looking at Important Variations in Experience .. XVI. Trends: Comparing Results Across Listening to Mothers Surveys .. XVI. Introduction .. 1. Who Was Included in Our Sample, and How We Reached Them .. 1. A Note on Reading the Text, Tables, and Figures.

3 2. A Note on the Selection of Quotations from Survey Participants .. 3. Project Responsibility .. 3. Companion Follow-Up Survey and Report .. 4. 1. Planning for Pregnancy and the Pregnancy Experience .. 5. Before Pregnancy, Including Planning for a Healthy Pregnancy .. 5. Prenatal Care .. 6. Sources of Information about Pregnancy and Birth .. 10. Childbirth Education .. 12. Use of WIC and Other Services .. 13. 2. Women's Experiences Giving Birth .. 14. Type of Caregiver Who Was the Primary Birth Attendant .. 14. Labor Induction .. 14. Supportive Care During Labor and Help with Labor Pain.

4 16. Augmentation, Episiotomy, and Other Interventions .. 18. Freedom and Constraint in Labor .. 19. Mode of Birth .. 20. Cumulative Interventions Around the Time of Birth .. 24. In the Hospital After the Birth .. 25. Baby's Birthweight and Gestational Age .. 27. LTM III: Pregnancy and Birth / Contents I. 3. Home with a New Baby .. 28. Maternity Care in the Postpartum Period .. 28. Breastfeeding .. 28. Physical Well-Being in the Postpartum Period .. 29. Mental Health in the Postpartum Period .. 32. Paying for Maternity Care .. 33. 4. Choice, Control, Knowledge, and Decision Making.

5 34. Views of the Maternity Care System and of Medical Intervention in the Birth Process .. 34. Pressure to Accept Interventions and Experience Refusing Them .. 35. Exploring Whether Mothers Experienced Shared Decision Making .. 36. Knowledge About Impact of Interventions .. 40. Knowledge About Optimal Conditions and Timing for Birth .. 42. 5. Looking at Some Important Variations in Experience .. 43. Comparing Childbearing Experiences by Parity and Mode of Birth .. 43. Comparing Childbearing Experiences by Race and Ethnicity .. 46. Comparing Childbearing Experiences by Primary Source of Payment.

6 49. 6. Trends: Comparing Results Across Listening to Mothers Surveys .. 51. Before and During Pregnancy .. 51. Around the Time of Birth .. 53. Postpartum Period .. 55. Attitudes, Choice, and Decision Making .. 56. Conclusion .. 58. Appendix A Methodology .. 61. Appendix B Demographic Overview of Survey Participants .. 64. Appendix C Comparing Listening to Mothers III Results and Federal Vital and Health Statistics .. 66. Appendix D Sources for New Listening to Mothers Survey Items .. 71. About Childbirth Connection , Harris Interactive, and the Kellogg Foundation .. 74. LTM III: Pregnancy and Birth / Contents II.

7 List of Tables & Figures Tables 1 Mothers ' reasons for not using comparative quality information when choosing maternity care provider or hospital .. 7. 2 Electronic devices used by Mothers at least once during a typical week, and ratings of devices as source for information about pregnancy and Childbirth .. 11. 3 Childbirth education class participation in current and any past pregnancies, by childbearing experience .. 12. 4 Mothers ' needs in pregnancy for selected services, and whether the service was received .. 13. 5 Reasons why Mothers experienced medical induction .. 15.

8 6 Mode of birth .. 21. 7 Reasons for primary and repeat cesarean birth .. 22. 8 Hospital support for breastfeeding, by Mothers ' feeding intention at end of pregnancy .. 26. 9 Mothers ' experience of discrimination during Childbirth hospital stay .. 27. 10 Infant feeding intention at end of pregnancy and actual feeding practice from 1 week to 12+ months after birth .. 29. 11 Mothers ' body mass index (BMI) and pregnancy weight gain, 2011-12. and 2005 .. 30. 12 Mothers ' experience of selected new-onset physical problems in first two months and at six or more months after birth.

9 31. 13 Sources of payment for maternity care .. 33. 14 Mothers ' attitude about interfering with birth process .. 35. 15 Mothers ' experience of pressure to have three interventions, by whether Mothers had intervention .. 36. 16 Mothers ' experiences of making three labor and birth decisions .. 38. 17 Mothers ' knowledge of cesarean section complications .. 41. 18 Mothers ' knowledge of labor induction complications .. 41. 19 Variation in experiences of first-time Mothers , by mode of birth .. 44. 20 Variation in experiences of experienced Mothers , by mode of birth .. 45. 21 Variation in Mothers ' experiences, by race/ethnicity.

10 47. 22 Variation in Mothers ' experiences, by primary payer .. 49. LTM III: Pregnancy and Birth / Tables & Figures III. Tables cont'd 23 Before and during pregnancy: trends across Listening to Mothers surveys .. 52. 24 Late pregnancy through hospital stay: trends across Listening to Mothers survey .. 53. 25 Postpartum period after hospital discharge: trends across Listening to Mothers surveys .. 55. 26 Attitudes, choice, and decision making: trends across Listening to Mothers surveys .. 57. 27 Unweighted and weighted demographic profile of survey participants .. 64. 28 Comparison of Listening to Mothers III results and federal vital and health statistics.