Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29310599›Full record

ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2018

Birthplace choices: what are the information needs of women when choosing where to give birth in England? A qualitative study using online and face to face focus groups.

Lisa Hinton, Carol Dumelow, Rachel Rowe, Jennifer Hollowell

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
5.9field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Lisa HintonHealth Experiences Research Group, Department of Primary Health Care Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK. lisa.hinton@phc.ox.ac.uk.
Carol DumelowHealth Experiences Research Group, Department of Primary Health Care Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK.
Rachel RowePolicy Research Unit in Maternal Health and Care, National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK.
Jennifer HollowellPolicy Research Unit in Maternal Health and Care, National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Headington, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK.
University of Oxford · GB

Funding

Policy Research Programme, Department of Health, UK 108/0001 (PRU-MHC)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrent clinical guidelines and national policy in England support offering 'low risk' women a choice of birth setting. Options include: home, free-standing midwifery unit (FMU), alongside midwifery unit (AMU) or obstetric unit (OU). This study, which is part of a broader project designed to inform policy on 'choice' in relation to childbirth, aimed to provide evidence on UK women's experiences of choice and decision-making in the period since the publication of the Birthplace findings (2011) and new NICE guidelines (2014). This paper reports on findings relating to women's information needs when making decisions about where to give birth.

methodsA qualitative focus group study including 69 women in the last trimester of pregnancy in England in 2015-16. Seven focus groups were conducted online via a bespoke web portal, and one was face-to-face. To explore different aspects of women's experience, each group included women with specific characteristics or options; planning a home birth, living in areas with lots of choice, living in areas with limited choice, first time mothers, living close to a FMU, living in opt-out AMU areas, living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas and planning to give birth in an OU. Focus group transcripts were analysed thematically.

resultsWomen drew on multiple sources when making choices about where to give birth. Sources included; the Internet, friends' recommendations and experiences, antenatal classes and their own personal experiences. Their midwife was not the main source of information. Women wanted the option to discuss and consider their birth preferences throughout their pregnancy, not at a fixed point.

conclusionsBirthplace choice is informed by many factors. Women may encounter fewer overt obstacles to exercising choice than in the past, but women do not consistently receive information about birthplace options from their midwife at a time and in a manner that they find helpful. Introducing options early in pregnancy, but deferring decision-making about birthplace until a woman has had time to consider and explore options and discuss these with her midwife, might facilitate choice.

Indexed as

Birthing CentersDecision MakingDelivery, ObstetricHome ChildbirthInformation Seeking BehaviorAdultChoice BehaviorEnglandFemaleFocus GroupsHumansInternetMidwiferyPregnancyQualitative ResearchYoung AdultChoiceDecision-makingFocus groupsInformationInternetMidwivesPlanned place of birthPregnancyQualitative data

Identifiers

PMID29310599
PMCPMC5759241
OpenAlexW2782939606

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.