Patients' Perspectives on Informational Support and Education in the Perinatal Period: "The Quicker They Could Be Done With Me, the Better"

Abstract

Introduction: The overall purpose of this study was to elicit perspectives from a diverse group of postpartum individuals about their perinatal outpatient informational support and education. In addition, suggestions from participants are provided. Although informational support is crucial in the peripartum period, it is often inadequate or biased. Qualitative research, which offers a nuanced and patient-centered perspective, is limited. The qualitive research that does exist is limited to the prenatal period only, neglecting perspectives throughout the entire peripartum period.

Methods: This qualitative descriptive study was part of a larger observational cross-sectional study of postpartum individuals in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 2017. Two years after the initial study (2019), participants were recruited into 8 focus groups. Trained facilitators guided focus group conversations using semistructured interview questions. The questions centered on overall experiences with perinatal outpatient health care experiences and informational support. Thematic analyses were used in data analysis. Interrater reliability between coders ranged from 92% to 100%.

Results: Fifty-four individuals (22.1% response rate) participated in a total of 12 focus groups. The overarching theme was the need for recognition of individuality of patients. Three subthemes emerged, including time, multiple modalities of information support, and agency.

Discussion: This study extended previous qualitative findings across the entire peripartum period and that individualized prenatal care is an important distinction in perceived quality of care. Health care organizations should consider allocating time differently for perinatal office visits, offer flexible visit times based on individualized needs, offer information in multiple modalities, and promote agency of patients. This study was strengthened by the community involvement, women of color only focus groups, and oversampling of Black women. This study was limited by the self-selected, homogenous sample and potential for recall bias.

Keywords: informational support; perinatal health care; qualitative research.