A longitudinal study comparing the prenatal care of Puerto Rican and white women

This study examined the effect of ethnicity on health-seeking attitudes and behavior, including patient compliance, use of the clinic, knowledge of childbirth, and the relationship between the patient and primary health care provider. Anthropologic techniques of observations and interviews were conducted longitudinally with 27 Puerto Rican women and 26 white women who received perinatal care at a tertiary-level hospital throughout the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum periods. Approximately 500 standardized and open-ended interviews and 150 observations of clinical interactions with resident physicians and nurse-midwives compared reproductive knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Results of this three-year study indicated that both groups of women were similar in age, years of education, and percentage receiving financial assistance. Puerto Rican women identified strongly as a separate ethnic group; all spoke Spanish and most were bilingual. Office visits and explanations from primary care providers were more important to women in both groups than information obtained from families, friends, or folk beliefs. Knowledge of pregnancy care procedures and childbirth, although limited, was no different between the groups. Long waits, depersonalized service, and a lack of continuity of care adversely affected patient and physician satisfaction and diminished effective doctor-patient interactions. This study suggests that differences in ethnic background do not necessarily adversely affect the delivery of reproductive health care. Indigent white and Puerto Rican women wanted the same thing: quality perinatal care and education.