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Postpartum women's perceptions of the hospital environment
1Department of Family and Child Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA. martell@u.washington.edu
Objective:
To describe postpartum women's perceptions of the hospital environment and how it affects their postpartum experiences.
Method:
Descriptive study using content analysis of interview transcripts.
Setting:
Participants were interviewed in their homes within the first 3 postpartum weeks about their postpartum experiences.
Participants:
Thirty-one primiparous women who gave birth vaginally to full-term newborns. They were recruited from two large childbirth education programs in the Pacific Northwest.
Results:
The categories addressing the hospital environment were context, physical conditions, sociocultural conditions, contingencies, and consequences. Overall, these women had more negative perceptions than positive ones of the hospital environment. Women's perceptions seemed to be most influenced by the context of care. Women with mother/baby care had a greater proportion of positive perceptions than women with other care modalities.
Conclusion:
Nurses need to modify or change the hospital environment to promote more positive experiences for new mothers.