Women’s satisfaction with maternity care services –⁠ a review of current evidence, measurement, and implications for the quality of perinatal care in the Czech Republic

Czech version

Authors: A. Pařízek ¹; L. Krámská ²; Š. Slabá ¹; D. Benešová ¹; P. Pařízková ³; V. Vaisová ¹
Authors‘ workplace: Klinika gynekologie, porodnictví a neonatologie 1. LF UK a VFN v Praze ¹; Oddělení klinické psychologie, FN Motol a Homolka, Praha ²; Česká společnost porodních asistentek ³
Published in: Ceska Gynekol 2026; 91(5): 424-431
Category:
doi: https://doi.org/10.48095/cccg2026424

Overview

Women’s satisfaction with healthcare services and their childbirth experience represent an important dimension of maternity care quality alongside traditional indicators of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The aim of this review article is to summarize current evidence on the measurement of women’s satisfaction with maternity services, clarify the relationship between satisfaction, childbirth experience and quality of care, describe the most commonly used psychometric instruments, and identify clinical, organizational, and psychosocial predictors of positive and negative childbirth experiences. Childbirth experience is a multidimensional construct encompassing professional support, communication, participation in decision-making, perceived safety, personal competence, pain, stress, fulfilment of expectations, support from a companion, contact with the newborn, and the care environment. The instruments used include the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised and the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2, whereas the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire is primarily focused on fear of childbirth. In the Czech context, questionnaires assessing the psychosocial climate of maternity units, the Czech version of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised, its partner version, and the Czech adaptation of the Pregnancy and Maternity Care Patients’ Experiences Questionnaire have been developed, validated, or used in studies. Their use, however, has not yet been standardized or implemented systematically. A negative childbirth experience may be associated with women’s mental health, sexuality, breastfeeding, attitudes towards future pregnancy, and the preferred mode of subsequent birth. Systematic, standardized, and repeated measurement of women’s experiences should therefore be regarded as an integral component of clinical evaluation and quality management rather than as an isolated questionnaire survey.

Keywords:

communication – patient satisfaction – quality of health care – shared decision-making – childbirth experience – perinatal care – respectful maternity care – patient experience

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