Accessing and engaging with antenatal care: an interview study of teenage women
Shee, Anna Wong, Frawley, Natasha, Robertson, Carolyn, McKenzie, Anne Marie, Lodge, Julie, Versace, Vincent, and Nagle, Cate (2021) Accessing and engaging with antenatal care: an interview study of teenage women. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 21 (1). 693.
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Abstract
Background: Pregnant teenagers in rural and regional areas experience distinct disadvantages, that are not simply a function of their age, and these have a substantial impact on their health and that of their baby. Studies demonstrate that antenatal care improves pregnancy outcomes amongst pregnant women, especially adolescents. Understanding teenager’s views and experiences of pregnancy and motherhood is important to ensure antenatal care meets young women’s needs. This study explored teenage women’s experiences and perceptions of barriers and facilitators to engaging in pregnancy care in rural and regional Victoria, Australia.
Methods: Between February–October 2017, pregnant women aged ≤19 years were purposively recruited from one regional and two rural health services in Victoria. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews guided by naturalistic inquiry were conducted and an inductive approach to analysis was applied.
Results: Four key themes emerged from the analysis of the transcripts of 16 interviews: Valuing pregnancy care, Interactions with Maternity Service, Woman-centred care, and Support systems. Teenage women primary motivation to attend care was to ensure their baby’s wellbeing and lack of engagement occurred when the relevance of antenatal care was not understood. Appointment flexibility and an accessible location was important; most participants were reliant on others for transport. Continuity of carer and respectful, non-judgement communication by staff was highly valued. Many young women had fractured families with pregnancy diminishing their social world, yet having a baby gave them purpose in their lives.
Conclusion: Maternity services and health professionals that provide flexible, adaptable women-centred care and support through pregnancy and early motherhood will assist young women’s engagement in antenatal care.
| Item ID: | 69922 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1471-2393 |
| Keywords: | Adolescent pregnancy, Maternal health services, Prenatal care, Rural health |
| Copyright Information: | © The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. |
| Date Deposited: | 17 Jan 2022 23:01 |
| FoR Codes: | 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4204 Midwifery > 420401 Clinical midwifery @ 50% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420321 Rural and remote health services @ 50% |
| SEO Codes: | 20 HEALTH > 2005 Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health) > 200509 Women's and maternal health @ 50% 20 HEALTH > 2005 Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health) > 200501 Adolescent health @ 50% |
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