Study of the Midwifery Care in 6 Obstetrical Facilities in Okinawa-Self- Completed Retrospective Questionnaires for One Month Postpartum Women

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effective midwifery care from pregnancy to postpartum in order to promote evidence-based midwifery practice in improving childbirth satisfaction and breastfeeding. The subjects were one-month postpartum mothers who came to one-month check-up during July to October in 2010. The purpose of the self-administered questionnaire developed by the research group was explained, then provided to mothers who agreed to participate in the survey at 4 hospitals each with more than 300 beds and 1 clinic with more than 500 deliveries annually in Okinawa. The questionnaire was collected on the same day or via postal mail. A total of 540 mothers agreed to complete the survey, and 434 responses were considered valid for this study (valid response rate: 80.4%). Vaginal delivery group was 223 (82.3% with medical intervention rate of 15.2%), and the cesarean section group was 48 (17.7%). The most helpful one-on-one guidance was