LISTENING TO MOTHERS
Childbirth Connection Releases Major Surveys of US Mothers
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by Barbra Elenbaas, ACNM Communications Assistant
his May, Childbirth Connection released the results of its third national survey of US women’s childbearing experiences: the Listening to Mothers III survey. LM-III compared actual birth experiences of childbearing women and newborns with mothers’ preferences, as well as with evidence-based care and optimal outcomes. Though nearly 6 in 10 mothers (59%) said they thought giving birth was a process that should not be interfered with unless medically necessary, participants reported an induction rate of 30%, a cesarean rate of 31%, medicated pain relief rate of 83%, and high rates of other interventions. Still, mothers generally perceived the quality of the US maternity care system very positively, with 83% of respondents rating it either “good” or “excellent.” New mothers got a chance to speak out about immediate postpartum issues they faced in Listening to Mothers III, Part 2, released in June. The second report found
that women rated their own well-being and the well-being of their new babies very highly: 98% of mothers said their child’s overall health was either “excellent” or “good.” Not surprisingly, 95% of the participating mothers said they enjoyed interacting with their baby most or all the time, though about 1 in 3 mothers reported “feeling down, depressed or hopeless,” and 17% met criteria for likely depression. One in 3 mothers were still stressed 6 months after giving birth, but only 18% had consulted a mental health or health care professional about their emotional well-being at any time. Despite this, at least 86% of respondents rated their postpartum care as “good” or better at each of the 5 stages of care in the 2 months after birth. View the full results of the Listening to Mothers III survey, as well as fact sheets and key findings, at http://transform. childbirthconnection.org/reports/ listeningtomothers/. ?
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State of the World’s Mothers Report 2013
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by Melissa Garvey, ACNM Senior Writer-Editor
ave the Children, an organization at the forefront of creating lasting change in the lives of children, has released its 14th State of the World’s Mothers Report, a comprehensive evaluation comparing 176 countries globally. Recognizing that children’s well-being is inextricably linked to that of mothers, the report looks at maternal factors as well as child indicators such as health and nutrition. According to the 2013 report, Finland is the best place to be a mother, followed by Sweden and Norway. Mothers fare the worst in Sub-Saharan Africa. The United States comes in thirtieth. The 2013 report zeroes in on the critical first day a baby is born—the day of life when ne ????[?[?\???X?H H?X]\? ?X] ? ? ?\??]?[\? ?[\? H?X]\?? ? [?]Y\???Y?K\?]?[??]ZX??[?[???[[Y\? ? L?B??[?\??[?[??H[?]Y?]\?\??H?\? H[???\?? Y^HX] ?[? H[? \? ?X[^?Y ?? ?]?\?H YX\? LK ? ?]????YH[? H[?]Y?]\?? H^H ^H\?H????%
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