National birth survey aims to target 1,600 new mums in Scotland

National birth survey aims to target 1,600 new mums in Scotland

A national survey into the care received by Scottish women during pregnancy and childbirth is being carried out by the University of Aberdeen’s Dugald Baird Centre.

Around 1,600 women across Scotland, who give birth between 14 and 23 September (inclusive), will be questioned about all aspects of the care they received throughout their pregnancy, delivery and postnatal period.

The Scottish Births Survey has been commissioned by the Scottish Programme for Clinical Effectiveness in Reproductive Health in order to assess the extent to which recommendations made in earlier policy review documents on maternity care have been put into practice. Five years on from the release of these recommendations, the survey is looking to see if the advocated shift towards women-centred maternity care has occurred - as perceived by the very women receiving this care.

Anne-Marie Rennie, the Research Midwife in the Centre who is co-ordinating the survey, said the aim of the research is to reach all women delivering between the 14 and 23 September through the co-operation and support of midwives working in the community.

These midwives will hand out the questionnaires to the women when they visit them at home about the tenth day after the birth. Posters giving details about the survey will also be displayed in post-natal wards to make new mothers aware of the questionnaire.

Dr Wendy Graham, Director of the Centre, said: “This is very much a team effort – both on the part of the centre, but also on the part of all the midwives working in the community and the women whose views really matter to the future provision of maternity services in Scotland.”

The survey is supported by the Royal College of Midwives Scottish Board and the Scottish Executive Committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, both of which have also contributed to a complementary activity involving interviews with lead professionals in every consultant-led maternity unit in Scotland.

The data from this exercise is still being analysed and will be released together with the findings of the Scottish Births Survey early next year. The combined results will be of value to all professionals involved in maternity care and may influence policy makers in allocating resources to the benefit of the providers of this care as well as to the users.

A similar survey has been already been carried out in England and Wales. The fact that the Dugald Baird Centre was approached to carry out the Scottish study is a reflection of its growing national and international reputation. It also follows in the tradition of Sir Dugald Baird, after whom the Centre was named, who believed in listening to women and taking their views on board.

The following people are all involved in the project in one way or another and are all available for interview:

Mrs Anne-Marie Rennie (Research Midwife) Dugald Baird Centre for Research on Women’s Health, University of Aberdeen. Tel: 01224 681818 Ext 53429

Dr Wendy Graham (Director), Dugald Baird Centre for Research on Women’s Health, University of Aberdeen. Tel: 01224 681818 Ext 53621

Dr Gillian Penney (Programme Co-ordinator) Scottish Programme for Clinical Effectiveness in Reproductive Health, Dugald Baird Centre for Research on Women’s Health, University of Aberdeen. Tel: 01224 681818 Ext54476/52614

Dr Edwin van Teijlingen (lecturer), Department of Public Health, University of Aberdeen.

Vanora Hundley (lecturer) Centre for Advanced Studies in Nursing, Department of General Practice Tel: 01224 681818 Ext 54579

Patricia Purton (Director) The Royal College of Midwives. Tel: (0131) 225 1633

Professor Andrew Calder (Chairman, Scottish Executive Committee of the RCOG), Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Centre for Reproductive Biology. Tel: (0131) 229 2575

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