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Commentary: Many Factors Affect the Outcome of Prenatal Classes

Commentary: Many Factors Affect the Outcome of Prenatal Classes Eliabeth L. Shearer, MEd, MPH their immediate need for information and tools to cope with labor. Given this need, it is hard to imagine four two-hour classes being long enough to prepare for parenting, especially to explore parents’ feelings, own parenting history, or supports. One month after the birth may be too soon to assess satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the birth experience accurately, as negative feelings may take longer to surface due to the “halo effect” after birth (43). A sense of control is reported to be an important determinant of women’s satisfactionwith the childbirth experience, however, particularly a sense of being active participants in decisions about care (6,7). One wonders how effective prenatal classes truly can be in preparing parents to feel in control, particularly hospital-based classes. Parents’ ability to have some say in their experiences may depend more on hospital policies and physician practice patterns. In fact, the identity of the physician (8) or labor nurse (9) has a major effect on the outcome of labor, and in the Houston doula study even the presence in the labor room of a stranger who did not directly interact with the mother exerted a measurable effect on the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Birth Wiley

Commentary: Many Factors Affect the Outcome of Prenatal Classes

Shearer, Elizabeth L.
Birth , Volume 22 (1) – Mar 1, 1995
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References (14)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
Copyright © 1995 Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
ISSN
0730-7659
eISSN
1523-536X
DOI
10.1111/j.1523-536X.1995.tb00550.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Eliabeth L. Shearer, MEd, MPH their immediate need for information and tools to cope with labor. Given this need, it is hard to imagine four two-hour classes being long enough to prepare for parenting, especially to explore parents’ feelings, own parenting history, or supports. One month after the birth may be too soon to assess satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the birth experience accurately, as negative feelings may take longer to surface due to the “halo effect” after birth (43). A sense of control is reported to be an important determinant of women’s satisfactionwith the childbirth experience, however, particularly a sense of being active participants in decisions about care (6,7). One wonders how effective prenatal classes truly can be in preparing parents to feel in control, particularly hospital-based classes. Parents’ ability to have some say in their experiences may depend more on hospital policies and physician practice patterns. In fact, the identity of the physician (8) or labor nurse (9) has a major effect on the outcome of labor, and in the Houston doula study even the presence in the labor room of a stranger who did not directly interact with the mother exerted a measurable effect on the

Journal

Birth – Wiley

Published: Mar 1, 1995

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