Judith Lumley Centre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia; Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia.
Judith Lumley Centre, School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia.
Women Birth. 2024 Jul;37(4):101603. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2024.101603. Epub 2024 Apr 23.
Women in rural Australia often have limited maternity care options available, and in Victoria, like many Australian states, numerous small hospitals no longer offer birthing services.
To evaluate women's views and experiences of maternity care at a local rural hospital that re-established birthing services with a Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) model of maternity care.
Women who booked into the new MGP model from May 2021 to June 2022 were invited to complete an anonymous online survey and participate in an optional additional semi-structured interview to explore their views and experiences. Descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data, and open-ended survey and interview responses were analysed using a general inductive approach.
Sixty-seven percent (44/66) of women completed the survey and five also completed an interview. Women were highly satisfied with the care they received. They felt respected, empowered, and had a sense of agency throughout their pregnancies, labour and birth, and post-birth. They reported low levels of anxiety during labour and birth, and felt that they coped physically and emotionally better than they anticipated. They felt well supported by midwives and highly valued the continuity of care within the MGP model.
Women's voices play a critical role in informing maternity care provision, particularly for those in rural communities who may have limited access to care options. The findings support and expand on existing research regarding the value of midwifery continuity of care models, and can inform other rural maternity services in introducing similar models.
澳大利亚农村地区的女性通常可供选择的孕产护理服务有限，在维多利亚州，与许多澳大利亚州一样，许多小医院不再提供分娩服务。
评估一家农村医院重新引入以助产士团队实践（MGP）模式为基础的孕产护理服务后，当地女性对孕产护理的看法和体验。
自 2021 年 5 月至 2022 年 6 月，预约 MGP 模式的新客户被邀请完成匿名在线调查，并可选择参加额外的半结构化访谈，以探索他们的观点和体验。定量数据采用描述性统计方法，开放式调查和访谈回复采用一般归纳法进行分析。
67%（44/66）的女性完成了调查，其中 5 人还完成了访谈。女性对所接受的护理非常满意。她们感到受到尊重，有自主权，并且在怀孕、分娩和产后期间都有这种感觉。她们报告说分娩期间焦虑程度较低，感觉自己的身体和情绪都比预期的要好。她们感到非常受助产士的支持，并高度重视 MGP 模式下的护理连续性。
女性的声音在告知孕产护理服务方面发挥着至关重要的作用，尤其是对于那些可能获得护理服务选择有限的农村社区的女性。这些发现支持并扩展了关于助产士连续性护理模式价值的现有研究，并为其他引入类似模式的农村孕产服务提供信息。
