Mothers', midwives' and obstetricians' views on the features of obstetric care which influence satisfaction with childbirth.

A sample of 15 women was interviewed 18-96 h postnatally to identify objective features of labour and postnatal care about which they expressed preferences. The importance of each item to a mother's satisfaction was then rated by a sample of 224 similar women. The same questionnaire was also completed by 28 midwives and 52 obstetricians. The items rated most important concerned the explanation of procedures and the involvement of mothers in administering or choosing them. Second was support from the presence of a partner and qualified hospital staff, third the physical comfort of the postnatal ward. The avoidance of obstetric interventions, such as episiotomy or use of forceps, was less important than the presence of these other features. The mean ranking given to each item by the midwives and obstetricians correlated very highly with that given by the mothers; those caring for obstetric patients are much more sensitive to their preferences than is popularly believed. There was no evidence that midwives perceived patients' needs more accurately than did the obstetricians. Discrepancies between the three groups' ranking of specific items may reflect the defence of their respective roles by each profession.