Exploration of facilitators and barriers to prenatal care among military women

Early and regular prenatal care has been shown to decrease the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes; however, little research has examined it exper ientially from the mother's perspective. The purpose of this qualitative st udy was to explore the experience of prenatal care from the military mother 's perspective. Using purposive sampling, 16 women who had recently given b irth were interviewed. The data were analyzed using a qualitative descripti ve research methodology to elicit categories of substantive concepts, ideas , or themes. Data explored in this study included availability, use and sat isfaction with prenatal care services, and barriers, preferences, and recom mendations. Copyright (C) 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company.