INTEREST IN ALTERNATIVE BIRTHPLACES AMONG WOMEN IN OTTAWA-CARLETON

  • 1 May 1990
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 142  (9) , 963-969
Abstract
Birthing rooms, birth centres and home birth have been proposed as alternatives to the traditional in-hospital caserooms to meet the needs of women and their families more effectively. We performed a descriptive survey to determine the level of interest of childbearing women in the Ottawa-Carleton region in these birthplaces and to examine the characteristics of women who express an interest in using them. Of the 1629 women who gave birth between July 1 and Aug. 28, 1987, 1115 (68.4%) completed a self-administered questionnaire during the pregnancy, in the early postpartum period in hospital or at home. Of the respondents 577 (53.1%) said they would choose the caseroom, 316 (29.1%) the birthing room, 165 (15.2%) the birth centre and 30 (2.8%) home birth. The women who expressed an interest in a birthplace other than the caseroom were more likely than the others to be older, married, well-educated and interested in midwifery services and to breastfeed their babies (p < 0.05). They were almost more likely to have had a low-intervention vaginal birth (p < 0.05). The interest expressed in birthing rooms, birthing centres and home birth suggests that these alternatives should be considered for inclusion in the health care system.