Publication Date

2015

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department

School for Social Work

Keywords

Pregnancy-Psychological aspects, Prenatal care, Obstetricians-Attitudes, Pregnancy, Emotional support, Satisfaction with prenatal care providers, Social work

Abstract

Research has shown that post-partum depression often begins during pregnancy. This study seeks to examine the extent to which prenatal care providers (PNCP's) are sufficiently attending to the emotional concerns of their patients. This study consisted of 117 women. Participants were asked a series of rating questions to determine their overall satisfaction with their PNCP's ability to attend to their emotional concerns. In addition to the rating questions, respondents were asked two open ended questions to better illustrate their experience with their PNCP, as well as to discuss which resources they felt would be helpful to women during pregnancy. While many of the women reported having a positive PNCP experience, discussion of emotional health during prenatal appointments were infrequent. The overall response to this survey was that having a greater focus on women's emotional health would be beneficial to both mother and child. This study emphasizes the need for collaboration between social workers and PNCP's as a way to provide more holistic and patient-centered care for pregnant women.

Language

English

Comments

v, 100 pages. Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, 2015. Includes bibliographical references (pages 88-91)

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