[Are women satisfied with the assistance provided by midwives in childbirth?]

To describe the women's satisfaction index regarding the cares provided by the midwife during the normal labour and delivery.

This is a descriptive transversal study. Data were collected using a questionnaire that permitted assess the women's perceptions and expectatives referred to the attention received from midwives.

The sample consisted on 316 women who were assisted in the labour and delivery by midwives or midwives trainees.

The women conferred a remarkable importance to the majority of the cares supplied by the midwife. The mean value of satisfaction with these cares was x = 8.62 (over 10). The most satisfied cares were "treating the women with respect", "supporting the immediate contact with the baby", and "praising the women's efforts", and the least satisfied cares were "keeping the partner informed", "permitting participation in making decisions" and "helping in the precocious beginning of the maternal lactation". The satisfaction with the emotional attention was superior than the satisfaction with the informational or tangible attention.

The importance of the cares provided by the midwife during the labour and delivery in order to cope with the stress of this process, was confirmed by the women. The quality of the emotional support should be promoted to continue supplying an integral attention. It's convenient to reinforce the quantity and quality of the information provided to the woman and partner, the user's participation in making decisions, and the help in the precocious beginning of the maternal lactation.