Descriptive terms for women attending antenatal clinics: mother knows best?

Objective To determine the noun for 'women who attend antenatal clinics' th at is most accepted by the women themselves. Design Cross sectional study. Setting Consultant-led antenatal clinics in Cornwall. Population All women attending consultant-led antenatal clinics over a two- month period. Methods The women were surveyed by written questionnaire. Main outcome measures The first, second and third choices of descriptions o ffered to women attending antenatal clinics. Secondary outcome measures inc lude the relation of maternal age, gestation, civil status, occupation and obstetric history to the individual's choice of description. Results Questionnaires were received from 446 women, constituting 13% of th e antenatal population of Cornwall. Their median age was 28 years and media n gestation 22 weeks; 255 (57%) had one or more children and 289 (65%) were married. The most popular choice of description was 'patient' (39% of firs t choices made), whereas the most accepted description was 'pregnant woman' (26% of totalled second and third choices). While women who selected 'pati ent' as first choice were slightly younger (mean 27.5 years) than the remai ning women (mean 28.4 years), the choice of 'pregnant woman' was not relate d to any of the other recorded characteristics of the respondents. Commerci al terms that consistently were selected least included 'client', 'consumer ' and 'customer'. Conclusion Some professional bodies and government organisations have criti cised the use of the term 'patient' to describe antenatal women. In this, t he largest study to investigate what the women themselves would choose, 'pa tient' is the most favoured term.