6/2013

Childbirth Connection’s ongoing Listening to Mothers Initiative is devoted to un- derstanding experiences and perspectives of childbearing women, newborns, and families and using this knowledge to improve maternity policy, practice, education, and research. Listening to Mothers surveys are central to this initiative. They en- able us to compare actual experiences of childbearing women and newborns to mothers’ values and preferences, as well as to optimal evidence-based care, optimal outcomes, and protections granted by law. Identified gaps present opportunities to improve conditions during this crucial developmental period for about four million mothers and babies annually in the United States…

…Listening to Mothers III (2012), a national survey of women who gave birth in U.S. hospitals in 2011-12, again included both continuing items and new topics of special relevance to the rapidly evolving health and maternity care environments. We recently issued a report with initial results from that survey, focusing especially on pregnancy and birth. We were grateful to again be able to invite initial survey participants to complete a follow-up survey in the early months of 2013. This report presents results of the follow-up survey, drawing on initial survey results as needed. It includes an in-depth national look at women’s experiences in the months after giving birth from the perspective of maternal well-being, baby well-being, family and relationships, and employment and child care. Further, we examined many aspects of women’s views about the quality of maternity care and engaging in their care, and devote a chapter to these subjects. This report also looks at subgroup differences based on the three largest race/ethnicity groupings (white non-Hispanic, black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic women) and beneficiaries of the two largest maternity care payer groups (women covered by private insurance and Medicaid or CHIP, the Child Health Insurance Pro- gram), trends across multiple surveys, and (in the final appendix) some additional items describing pregnancy and birth experiences.

Source: Childbirth Connections

Available at: http://transform.childbirthconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/LTM-III_NMSO.pdf