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Table 4 Percentages, difference and adjusted odds of reporting positive experiences, women with compared to those without, a mental health condition

From: Experiences of maternity care in New South Wales among women with mental health conditions

Dimension

Stage

Question

Response

MHC (n)

MHC (%)

No MHC (%)

GAP

AOR

AOR 95% CI

Overall

1

#Overall, how would you rate the antenatal care you received during your pregnancy?

Very good

341

55

64

−9*

0.69

(0.51,0.94)

Overall

1

Were the health professionals providing your antenatal care polite and courteous?

Yes, always

345

84

90

−6

0.67

(0.43,1.05)

Overall

2

#Overall, how would you rate the care you received in the hospital during your labour and birth?

Very good

351

63

76

−13*

0.55

(0.4,0.76)

Overall

2

Were the midwives or doctors kind and caring towards you? [during labour and birth]

Yes, always

352

82

89

−7*

0.58

(0.39,0.86)

Overall

3

#Overall, how would you rate the care you received in the hospital after your baby was born?

Very good

350

52

60

−8*

0.72

(0.53,0.97)

Overall

3

If friends and family asked about your maternity experience at the hospital where you gave birth, how would you respond?

Would speak highly

352

70

81

−11*

0.57

(0.41,0.8)

Overall

3

After the birth of your baby, were the health professionals taking care of you kind and caring?

Yes, always

352

63

78

−14*

0.5

(0.36,0.7)

Overall

3

Looking back, do you feel that the length of your stay in hospital was …?

About right

352

71

84

− 13*

0.49

(0.34,0.69)

Overall

4

#Overall, how would you rate the care you received in the first two weeks after arriving home from the hospital?

Very good

353

60

68

−8

0.75

(0.55,1.02)

Emotional

1

(MH) Did the health professionals ask you how you were feeling emotionally during your pregnancy?

Yes

334

89

93

−4

0.67

(0.4,1.11)

Emotional

1

#Did the health professionals discuss your worries or fears with you? [at antenatal check-ups]

Yes, completely

240

54

65

−11*

0.67

(0.46,0.97)

Emotional

1

Did you have confidence and trust in the health professionals providing your antenatal care?

Yes, always

345

71

83

−11*

0.54

(0.39,0.76)

Emotional

2

#Did you have confidence and trust in the midwives or doctors taking care of you during your labour and birth?

Yes, always

352

76

88

−11*

0.48

(0.33,0.69)

Emotional

2

#Did a midwife or doctor discuss your worries or fears with you? [during labour and birth]

Yes, completely

214

48

63

−15*

0.54

(0.37,0.78)

Emotional

3

Shortly after the birth, did a health professional talk to you about how the birth had gone?

Yes

353

62

75

−13*

0.55

(0.41,0.76)

Emotional

4

(MH) During a follow-up appointment, did a midwife or nurse ask you how you were feeling emotionally?

Yes

337

97

98

−1

0.63

(0.29,1.39)

Information

1

(MH) Did the health professionals give you advice about the risks of consuming alcohol while pregnant?

Yes

324

91

89

2

1.19

(0.68,2.09)

Information

1

(MH) Did the health professionals give you advice about the risks of exposure to tobacco smoke while pregnant?

Yes

329

89

88

1

1.04

(0.61,1.75)

Information

1

(MH) Did the health professionals discuss the importance of healthy weight gain with you? [at antenatal check-ups]

Yes

321

75

80

−4

0.77

(0.53,1.11)

Information

1

#Did the health professionals providing your antenatal care explain things in a way you could understand?

Yes, always

346

73

85

−12*

0.51

(0.35,0.74)

Information

1

#Did you receive enough information about pain relief options prior to the birth?

Yes, definitely

314

48

62

−13*

0.58

(0.42,0.8)

Information

2

#During your labour and birth, did the midwives or doctors explain things in a way you could understand?

Yes, always

352

76

87

−11*

0.49

(0.34,0.71)

Information

3

#(MH) After the birth, did the health professionals give you enough information about how to care for yourself?

Yes, completely

344

42

57

−15*

0.56

(0.41,0.75)

Information

3

#After the birth of your baby, did the health professionals explain things in a way you could understand?

Yes, always

352

67

81

−14*

0.51

(0.37,0.71)

Information

3

After the birth, did the health professionals give you enough information about how to care for your baby?

Yes, completely

304

38

56

−18*

0.48

(0.35,0.66)

Information

3

Did midwives in the hospital work with you to show you a good position for breastfeeding your baby?

Yes

305

88

91

−3

0.74

(0.43,1.29)

Information

4

At any point during your pregnancy or after the birth, were you shown or given information about safe sleeping for your baby?

Yes

343

99

96

2*

2.69

(1.27,5.7)

Respect

2

#Were you involved, as much as you wanted to be, in decisions during your labour and birth?

Yes, definitely

346

67

73

−6

0.76

(0.56,1.04)

Respect

2

#Did you feel you were treated with respect and dignity during your labour and birth?

Yes, always

352

76

90

−14*

0.37

(0.25,0.54)

Respect

2

During your labour, were you able to move around and choose the position that made you most comfortable?

Yes, most of the time

280

60

67

−7*

0.7

(0.49,0.99)

Respect

2

Were you offered the option of being in a bath during labour?

Yes

226

50

53

−3

0.85

(0.58,1.25)

Respect

2

#Did you have enough say about your pain relief during your labour and birth?

Yes, definitely

351

61

71

−9*

0.66

(0.49,0.89)

Respect

2

Were you given enough privacy in the birth room or theatre?

Yes, always

351

84

90

−6*

0.62

(0.41,0.93)

Respect

2

Did you have skin to skin contact with your baby shortly after the birth?

Yes

308

97

96

0

1.04

(0.46,2.35)

Respect

3

#Did you feel involved in decisions about your discharge from hospital?

Yes, definitely

349

58

68

−10*

0.62

(0.46,0.85)

Respect

3

Were your decisions about how you wanted to feed your baby respected by the health professionals?

Yes, always

347

74

82

−7*

0.66

(0.46,0.95)

Respect

4

In general, did you feel that the midwife or nurse listened to you? [at follow-up appointment]

Yes, always

342

83

92

−9*

0.48

(0.31,0.74)

Respect

4

In general, did you have enough time with the midwife or nurse to ask questions or discuss any concerns? [at follow-up]

Yes, definitely

342

84

91

−7*

0.55

(0.35,0.86)

Involvement

2

During your labour and birth, was your birthing companion involved as much as they wanted to be?

Yes, definitely

347

79

88

−9*

0.56

(0.38,0.82)

Involvement

3

Were the visiting times convenient for your friends and family?

Yes, definitely

340

66

74

−8*

0.66

(0.47,0.92)

Comfort

2

Do you think the midwives or doctors did everything reasonable to help you manage your pain during your labour and birth?

Yes, definitely

350

66

77

−11*

0.57

(0.42,0.79)

Comfort

2

Were you able to get assistance from midwives or doctors when you needed it? [during labour and birth]

Yes, always

345

67

83

−16*

0.43

(0.31,0.61)

Comfort

3

#Do you think the health professionals did everything they could to help you manage your pain after the birth of your baby?

Yes, definitely

274

53

71

−18*

0.46

(0.33,0.65)

Comfort

3

After the birth of your baby, were you able to get assistance or advice from health professionals when you needed it?

Yes, always

351

54

70

−16*

0.51

(0.37,0.68)

Comfort

3

How clean were the wards or rooms you stayed in after the birth of your baby?

Very clean

350

63

70

−7*

0.7

(0.51,0.97)

Comfort

3

How clean were the toilets and bathrooms you used after the birth of your baby?

Very clean

351

60

67

−7*

0.69

(0.51,0.95)

Comfort

3

Bothered by noise, lack of privacy, lack of security or lighting during stay in hospital

Not bothered

349

38

44

−7*

0.71

(0.52,0.95)

Comfort

3

How would you rate the hospital food?

Very good

344

14

17

−3

0.78

(0.51,1.19)

Comfort

3

Did the hospital provide access to food when you needed it?

Yes, always

330

49

61

−12*

0.62

(0.46,0.85)

Coordination

1

#How well organised was the antenatal care you received at your check-ups?

Very well organised

345

50

58

−9*

0.71

(0.53,0.95)

Coordination

1

How many weeks pregnant were you when you had your first appointment for antenatal care?

Less than 14 weeks

339

43

40

3

1.16

(0.85,1.57)

Coordination

1

How much of this time did you usually spend waiting to be seen? [antenatal]

Under 30 min

345

54

55

−1

0.86

(0.64,1.16)

Coordination

1

Do you think the amount of time you waited was...? [antenatal]

About right

342

57

56

0

0.94

(0.69,1.27)

Coordination

1

Was there any time when the health professionals needed access to your medical history and it was not available? [antenatal]

No

344

67

75

−8*

0.66

(0.48,0.92)

Coordination

1

Were you provided with a personal antenatal card, where information about your antenatal check-ups was recorded?

Yes

339

94

96

−3

0.6

(0.31,1.15)

Coordination

1

Did the health professionals update your personal antenatal card at every check-up?

Yes

316

98

97

1

1.47

(0.76,2.85)

Coordination

2

#Did midwives or doctors ever give you conflicting information during your labour and birth?

No

351

79

82

−3

0.83

(0.56,1.22)

Coordination

2

Had you previously met any of the midwives or doctors who cared for you during your labour and birth?

Yes

348

49

49

0

0.92

(0.68,1.25)

Coordination

2

Did the midwives or doctors who you did not already know, introduce themselves to you during your labour and birth?

Yes, always

327

76

85

−9*

0.54

(0.37,0.79)

Coordination

3

#After the birth, did you ever receive conflicting information from health professionals about how to care for yourself/your baby?

No

353

62

69

−7

0.76

(0.56,1.03)

Coordination

3

Did you ever receive conflicting advice about feeding your baby from the health professionals?

No

346

57

69

−12*

0.64

(0.47,0.87)

Continuity

3

Before leaving hospital, were you given enough information about caring for yourself and your baby at home?

Yes, completely

335

45

64

−19*

0.45

(0.34,0.61)

Continuity

3

Did hospital staff tell you who to contact if you were worried about your health or your baby’s health after you left hospital?

Yes

335

93

95

−2

0.8

(0.41,1.56)

Continuity

4

In the first 2 weeks after arriving home, had a follow-up appointment with a midwife or nurse?

Yes at home

352

89

86

2

1.28

(0.85,1.93)

  1. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) of positive experience for women with compared without a mental health condition after adjusting for age, language, education, type of birth, parity, and local health district of residence are denoted by “*” where significant at p < 0.05. Stage 1: Antenatal, stage 2: Labour and birth, stage 3: hospital care following birth, stage 4: follow up care. Mental health condition group (MHC), no condition group (no MHC), Gap = percentage point difference MHC group minus no MHC group results based on unrounded values. Question text denoted by (MH) were questions identified as proxy measures related to guidelines for maternity care for women with mental illness, and those denoted by “#” are considered as more important measures of experience