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Objectives The aim of the study was to assess mothers' perceived satisfaction with professional support during the first 2 weeks after childbirth and the extent to which mothers seek emergency care during the same period. Design A cross-sectional study was conducted of all mothers (n = 546) in Stockholm County, Sweden, who gave birth to a live baby during the same week in 2009. Ethical issues The study was approved by the regional Research and Ethics Committee at the Karolinska Insititutet, Sweden. Methods The mothers responded to a study-specific questionnaire on perceived satisfaction with professional support and the sense of coherence scale, which measures coping strategies. The mothers also provided information about their socio-demographic background, obstetric and infant data, and visits to hospital emergency departments. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results Fifty-three percent of the mothers rated the support received as sufficient or more than sufficient, 29.7% as neither sufficient nor insufficient and 17.7% as insufficient or completely insufficient. The results indicate a lack of continuity in postpartum care. As many as 17% of the mothers in the study population visited hospital emergency departments during the first 2 weeks after childbirth, as a result of problems related to delivery, breastfeeding or infant health. A higher frequency of such emergency visits was associated with poor perception of professional support, low sense of coherence and delivery complications. Conclusions Relative to otherwise comparable mothers, mothers who experience complications with delivery are less satisfied with professional support and turn more frequently to hospital emergency departments for support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background For safety reasons an in-hospital birth center was replaced by a modified form of birth center care with the same medical guidelines and equipment as in standard care. The aim of this study was to investigate women's and men's satisfaction with modified care compared with standard care. Methods Women in both groups gave birth from July 2007 to July 2008. The same medical low-risk criteria during pregnancy applied to both groups. Of those invited to the study, 547 (82.7%) women in modified birth center care and 445 (66.7%) men returned a questionnaire posted 2 months after the birth, and 786 (71.6%) women and 639 (58.2%) men in standard care. Odds ratios ( ORs) for being satisfied were calculated with 95 percent confidence intervals ( CIs) and adjusted for possible confounders. We also explored the effects of different components of care on overall satisfaction. Results Adjusted ORs for being satisfied overall were approximately doubled in the modified birth center group compared with the standard care group: antenatal care- OR: 2.1 (95% CI: 1.6-2.7) in women and OR: 2.2 (95% CI: 1.5-2.8) in men; intrapartum care- OR: 2.2 (95% CI: 1.7-2.9) in women and OR: 1.7 (95% CI: 1.3-2.4) in men; and postpartum care- OR: 1.7 in women (95% CI: 1.4-2.2) and OR: 2.1 (95% CI: 1.6-2.8) in men. Important explanations of these differences included perception of the midwife as being more supportive, the presence of a calmer environment and atmosphere (intrapartum), and the option for fathers to stay overnight (postpartum). Conclusion In-hospital birth center with medical equipment on site increased overall satisfaction with all episodes of care compared with standard care. ( BIRTH 39:2 June 2012) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]