Women's Experience of Continuity During Antenatal Care: A Cross-Sectional Study in The Netherlands

Continuity of maternity care contributes to improved birth experiences and health outcomes among women and newborns. To improve continuity of maternity care in the Netherlands, the Integrated maternity care standard recommends a maternity care plan and a coordinating care professional for all care settings. This study aimed to gain insights into women's experiences of continuity during antenatal care in the Netherlands in both community and hospital settings and whether a maternity care plan and coordinating care professional are associated with continuity of care as experienced by women.

We conducted a cross-sectional study in 2019 to 2020 among pregnant women (> 32 weeks) in the Netherlands. Experienced continuity of care was measured using the Nijmegen Continuity Questionnaire. We used regression analyses to explore the association between a maternity care plan, coordinating care professional, and experience of continuity during the antenatal period in multiple care settings.

We included 1165 women in this study. Most women reported moderate to high levels of continuity, with higher scores reported for care provided by community midwives compared to hospital staff. Having a maternity care plan, a coordinating care professional, and experiencing few care professionals were significantly associated with higher scores on continuity when care was provided by community midwives, but these associations were not found when care was provided by hospital staff.

Our findings emphasize the critical role of community midwives in promoting antenatal continuity. A maternity care plan, coordinating care professionals, and fewer care professionals contribute to this experience of continuity.