Local maternity wards top list of women's priorities when giving birth
Women list the proximity to their hospital or birthing centre as their top priority in their birth experience.
A quarter of British mothers listed the location of the birthing unit as their top priority when asked to identify the most important thing about their experience of giving birth. The importance of the proximity to the hospital increased as women prepared to give birth to second (26 per cent) and third (30 per cent) children. Also high on the list of priorities for first-time mothers were: having a private room (14 per cent); access to a birthing pool (10 per cent); and having space for a partner stay overnight (9 per cent).
A third of women said their top concerns were around the act of giving birth. Fourteen per cent said their top priority was to have midwife-led care, whereas just 5 per cent of women polled said it was most important to them to have doctor-led care. Another 11 per cent of women said that giving birth in a hospital with a good neonatal ward was their top priority.
Technical Note The Ipsos Marketing/Bounty poll for the Daily Telegraph was conducted amongst 894 new mums between 17-20th December 2012. The Bounty “Word of Mum” panel, is the largest custom research panel of its kind in the UK and is comprised of over 30,000 expectant and new mums.
