TY - JOUR
T1 - Group prenatal care experiences among pregnant women in a Bangladeshi community
AU - Sultana, Marufa
AU - Ali, Nausad
AU - Akram, Raisul
AU - Jahir, Tania
AU - Mahumud, Rashidul Alam
AU - Sarker, Abdur Razzaque
AU - Islam, Ziaul
PY - 2019/6/12
Y1 - 2019/6/12
N2 - Background Complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and following delivery remain significant challenges that contribute to maternal morbidity and mortality, thus affecting health systems worldwide. Group prenatal care (GPC) is an integrated approach incorporating peer support and health education that provides prenatal care in a group setting. The GPC approach was piloted in a district of Bangladesh to measure the feasibility and effectiveness of GPC compared to individual care. Understanding the experiences of women of receiving this grouped care approach is crucial to understand the perspectives, perception, and acceptability of the programme among mothers, which are lack in Bangladesh. The objective of the present study was to understand the core experiences and perspectives of mothers who participated in GPC sessions during their pregnancy period. Methods A qualitative research approach was used to understand the experiences of women receiving GPC. A total of 21 in-depth interviews were conducted in this study targeting pregnant mothers who attended all recommended GPC sessions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by trained and experienced interviewers using a specific interview guideline to achieve detailed responses. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the data. Results Mothers appreciated receiving pregnancy care in group setting and expressed their preferences towards GPC compared to individual care. Themes included the comprehensiveness of GPC, prescheduled appointments and reduced waiting time, social gathering, coping with common discomforts, relationship with service providers, birth preparedness, and recommendations from participating mothers. The themes conveyed overall positive experiences of the participating mothers, with suggestions for further betterment of the programme. Nevertheless, the reported experiences of women involved in the study suggests that the inclusion of a specialist in group care, post-partum care, and family planning advice will be more beneficial in the GPC model. Conclusions The overall experiences of the women in the present study suggest that GPC is helpful for them, and it is useful to reduce complications during pregnancy. The GPC model promises movement towards family-supported care, as explained by the participants.
AB - Background Complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and following delivery remain significant challenges that contribute to maternal morbidity and mortality, thus affecting health systems worldwide. Group prenatal care (GPC) is an integrated approach incorporating peer support and health education that provides prenatal care in a group setting. The GPC approach was piloted in a district of Bangladesh to measure the feasibility and effectiveness of GPC compared to individual care. Understanding the experiences of women of receiving this grouped care approach is crucial to understand the perspectives, perception, and acceptability of the programme among mothers, which are lack in Bangladesh. The objective of the present study was to understand the core experiences and perspectives of mothers who participated in GPC sessions during their pregnancy period. Methods A qualitative research approach was used to understand the experiences of women receiving GPC. A total of 21 in-depth interviews were conducted in this study targeting pregnant mothers who attended all recommended GPC sessions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by trained and experienced interviewers using a specific interview guideline to achieve detailed responses. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the data. Results Mothers appreciated receiving pregnancy care in group setting and expressed their preferences towards GPC compared to individual care. Themes included the comprehensiveness of GPC, prescheduled appointments and reduced waiting time, social gathering, coping with common discomforts, relationship with service providers, birth preparedness, and recommendations from participating mothers. The themes conveyed overall positive experiences of the participating mothers, with suggestions for further betterment of the programme. Nevertheless, the reported experiences of women involved in the study suggests that the inclusion of a specialist in group care, post-partum care, and family planning advice will be more beneficial in the GPC model. Conclusions The overall experiences of the women in the present study suggest that GPC is helpful for them, and it is useful to reduce complications during pregnancy. The GPC model promises movement towards family-supported care, as explained by the participants.
KW - pregnancy
KW - childbirth
KW - prenatal care
KW - Bangladesh
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067182771&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0218169
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0218169
M3 - Article
C2 - 31188891
AN - SCOPUS:85067182771
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 14
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 6
M1 - e0218169
ER -