Does team midwife care increase satisfaction with antenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care? A randomized controlled trial

Background: Although policymakers have suggested that improving continuity of midwifery can increase women's satisfaction with care ill childbirth, ev idence based on randomized controlled trials is lacking. New models of care , such as birth centers and team midwife care, try to increase the continui ty of care and caregiver: The objective of this study was to evaluate the e ffect of a new team midwife care program in the standard clinic and hospita l environment on satisfaction with antenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum c are in low-risk women in early pregnancy. Methods: Women at Royal Women's H ospital in Melbourne, Australia, were randomly allocated to team midwife ca rt (n = 495) or standard care (n = 505) at booking in early pregnancy. Doct ors attended most women bl standard care, and continuity of the caregiver w as lacking. Satisfaction was measured by means of a postal questionnaire 2 months after the birth. Results: Team midwife care was associated with incr eased satisfaction, and the differences between the groups were most notice able for antenatal care, less noticeable for intrapartum care, and least no ticeable for postpartum care. The study found no differences between team m idwife care and standard care in medical interventions or in women's emotio nal well-being 2 months after the birth. Conclusion: Conclusions about whic h components of team midwife care were most important to increased satisfac tion with antenatal care were difficult to draw but data suggest that satis faction with intrapartum care was related to continuity of the caregiver.