Greek mothers’ perceptions of their cooperation with the obstetrician and the midwife in the delivery room

Α Ι Μ : The objective of this study was to access the perceptions of mothers of newborns regarding their cooperation with the midwife and the obstetrician in the delivery room. M A T E R I A L M E T H O D : The sample consisted of 607 mothers living in Northern Greece. The Kuopio Instrument for Mothers (KIM) was used for the data collection. R E S U L T S : All the participants gave birth in a hospital; 403 (66.4%) had vaginal delivery, while 204 (33.6%) gave birth by caesarean section. Women with a vaginal delivery had a better cooperation with the midwife and the obstetrician, in comparison to women who gave birth via caesarean section. The participant mothers had a more positive experience from their cooperation with the obstetrician than with the midwife. C O N C L U S I O N S : The mothers’ preference for obstetrician’s care than for midwife’s care is probably due to the commercialisation of gynaecology/obstetrics in Greece, the dramatic increase in the number of obstetricians over the past decade, and the fact that deliveries carried out solely by midwives have almost disappeared in the country. Health policy makers should reinforce the current provision of maternity services and support midwives to take a more central role during pregnancy, labour, and the postnatal period. K E Y W O R D S : Labour, delivery room, Greek mothers, KIM