Christie Sue Henrichsen, Cassidy Tomao, and Dr. Ana Birkhead, Nursing

This qualitative descriptive study examined the perceptions of the birth experience for primaparous women who had received prenatal education classes (PNEC) compared with those who did not. The researchers surveys 20 women who had received PNEC and 20 who had not. Women were surveyed on the postpartum unit within 72 hours of giving birth and briefly interviewed about their experience.

Probably the most arduous aspect was actually preparing for the research. We knew research would be work, but did not accurately understand how much! In preparation, we spent hours upon hours looking at other surveys, discussing our purpose, translating, and re-wording our survey. We even had some women fill it out as a small pilot study. Even with all that effort, we quickly learned some of the questions and formatting were not ideal for our desired quantitative reporting. We also discovered how often participants would simply leave questions unanswered. Therefore, we were grateful a post-survey interview was part of our research design, because this gave us the opportunity to review the questions and clarify answers with the participants. Both of us enjoyed the experience of actually speaking with the participants.

Though we had anticipated difficulty in balancing the interviews to obtain the desired number of class attendees and non-attendees, we found this aspect rather easy. As it turned out, we found that more first-time mothers did participate in PNEC than we thought we would encounter. Participation was completely voluntary. Despite that, only two women ever refused to participate in the study. We were pleased to find so many candidates so amicable to aiding in our research process.

Working with Ana Birkhead, we began to see the pieces come together. She gave us the opportunity to learn as much as we could, and ask every question possible. We found data entry not as tedious as we had anticipated. We discovered the general uniformity of our sample and trends in their answers. As we met and worked together, we began to find our answers we set out to discover.

The typical participant in the study was Caucasian, college-educated, and married. Other represented ethnicities included Hispanic and Hawaiian. All surveyed women delivered their baby with the assistance of a doctor. Most of the mothers who did participate in a course had utilized the general hospital course, with several mothers stating it was the only class they knew was available in the area. All women who completed a class stated they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the course. All the participants indicated they sought information from other sources, including the Internet, family and friends. These sources helped the women know what to expect and how to approach labor.

We were surprised to find from our preliminary results that women in both groups were equally satisfied with their birth experience; however women with PNEC did report a decreased level of anxiety coming in to the hospital and increased understanding about the process on the part of the support person. Many class attendees stated they would have been able to find the information provided in the course through other sources and that it really might not have been necessary to take the course for that information. However, all the women who had taken a complete course did respond that they would recommend to a friend that she take a course.

Prenatal courses not only helped to decrease the anxiety level of mothers, but of their support persons as well. During the surveying and interviewing process, many husbands interjected that they felt the course helped familiarize them with the birth process and what to expect. Most of the women who took classes stated that one reason for attending a class was to learn how their support person could help during the labor process. Preliminary results show that prenatal courses effectively met this objective.

One of the largest determinants for having a positive labor experience was pain control, an area in which satisfaction between both groups was equal. Women in both groups explained the fears they had going in to labor because of the pain they would experience. All of the women surveyed received an epidural for either a vaginal or cesarean delivery and many in both groups mentioned the epidural being the most helpful part of their labor experience with regard to pain control. To our surprise, prenatal courses appeared to have very little effect in this area of satisfaction. Many of the women also expressed fears about receiving the epidural. Those who attended a prenatal course stated that the course helped them feel prepared and relieved their anxieties about the epidural. However, women who did not have a course stated they felt prepared for the epidural because the hospital staff effectively explained the procedure to them. These preliminary results indicate that a previous prenatal education course is not necessary to provide the woman with adequate pain management during her labor experience.

We found that prenatal education does have an impact on maternal perception of birth experience; however, prenatal courses are not the only useful source for this education. From the commentary by participants in both categories, we found that the education provided during the hospital and birthing experience is of great import. Some mothers stated it was helpful to receive an explanation of procedures and processes, even if the information had been addressed in a prenatal course. Thus, the practice of medical professionals providing education during care is beneficial and should continue.

In conclusion, we found PNEC did have an effect on maternal perceptions of their experience, though not in every aspect we anticipated. We found the research process to be quite complicated, and realized that each step was vital to success. We still need to compile some of our results for submission to research conferences at BYU and IHC, after we perform a complete analysis of the data with our mentor. It was an important experience for us as students. We now appreciate the process and know where we would improve this study in the future.