Background: Patient satisfaction is considered together with health st
atus, to be an outcome of the delivery of health care services as well
as a measure of its quality A focus group study of 50 low-income Mexi
can-American, Puerto Rican, African-American, and white women in Chica
go, Illinois, explored the characteristics of prenatal care that affec
t women's satisfaction, Methods: Transcripts from the focus groups wer
e analyzed using researcher-derived coding categories to develop broad
themes. Results: Despite their diverse ethnic backgrounds, participan
ts revealed few differences with respect to what they value in prenata
l car e. Aspects of care that appeared to affect women's satisfaction
included the ''art of care,'' the technical competence of the practiti
oner continuity of caregiver; and the atmosphere and physical environm
ent of the care setting. The one characteristic that did not appear to
affect satisfaction was the caregiver's ethnicity. Conclusion: Knowle
dge of how the characteristics of prenatal care affect women's satisfa
ction can help increase use of care and ultimately improve perinatal o
utcomes.