BACKGROUND A major change in the organisation of maternity care in the Netherlands is under consideration, going from an echelon system where midwives provide primary care in the community and refer to obstetricians for secondary and tertiary care, to a more integrated maternity care system involving midwives and obstetricians at all care levels. Student midwives are the future maternity care p...

BACKGROUND Weight stigma is pervasive in Western society and in healthcare settings, and has a negative impact on victims' psychological and physical health. In the context of an increasing focus on the management of overweight and obese women during and after pregnancy in research and clinical practice, the current studies aimed to examine the presence of weight stigma in maternity care. Addre...

There are significant health disparities in maternity care in the United States. One way to decrease these disparities may be to improve prenatal care among underserved minority women. This article reviews cultural and ethnic issues that may impact maternity care within 5 different groups of women commonly seen by maternity care providers in Wisconsin: African American, Latina, Hmong, Amish, an...

The shortage of maternity care providers in Canada has been documented largely from the perspective of physicians. Women in rural communities, however, have much to contribute to this discussion. Exploratory research in 3 rural communities in south central Ontario eliciting the perspectives of 36 birthing women has affirmed the need for integrated models of maternity care. Rural women seek care...

BACKGROUND There are interwoven personal, professional and organisational relationships to be navigated in maternity in all regions. In rural regions relationships are integral to safe maternity care. Yet there is a paucity of research on how relationships influence safety and nurture satisfying experiences for rural maternity care providers and mothers and families in these regions. This paper...

BACKGROUND There are two dimensions of quality of maternity care, namely quality of health outcomes and quality as perceived by clients. The feasibility of using clinical audit to assess and improve the quality of maternity care as perceived by women was studied in Malawi. OBJECTIVE We sought to (a) establish standards for women friendly care and (b) explore attitudinal barriers which could i...

Effective collaboration between professional groups is increasingly seen as an essential element in good quality and safe health care. This is especially important in the context of maternity care, where most women have straightforward labour and birth experiences, but some require rapid transfer between care providers and settings. This article presents current accounts of collaboration--or la...

Electronic auctions can be applied in certain markets, but the effects on market structure, market behaviour and market performance are unclear. We analysed the effects of a reverse electronic auction initiative, implemented by a new intermediary (CareAuction.nl), on the market for maternity care in the Netherlands in 2005 and 2006. After an unsuccessful start in 2004 as cybermediary in the car...