Obstetric clinicians' experiences and educational preparation for caring for pregnant women with physical disabilities: A qualitative study.
Suzanne C Smeltzer, Monika Mitra, Linda Long-Bellil and 2 others
PMID 28784583WHAT IT FOUND
None of 14 obstetric clinicians had formal training to care for pregnant women with physical disabilities.
They learned on the job and from patients. Several described the work as rewarding and attributed problems to systems barriers rather than patients.
Key findings
01None of the 14 clinicians received training about caring for women with disabilities when they were students, residents, or fellows.
02All clinicians learned on the job, including maternal-fetal medicine specialists.
03Clinicians did not identify negative experiences related specifically to the women; they attributed problems to systems issues such as lack of information, poor continuity, inaccessible facilities, time demands, and limited accurate information.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
Only 14 of 33 identified clinicians were interviewed, and 16 could not be reached. The sample was small and selected from clinicians known or found to have experience with women with disabilities. The clinicians' experiences may not represent other obstetric clinicians, especially those without similar practice settings or career pathways. No transcript or summary was sent back to participants for correction or comment. The study described experiences rather than quantifying outcomes. Participants may have given socially desirable responses.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts or competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that formal training improves perinatal care or patient outcomes. It reports the experiences of 14 obstetric clinicians and does not quantify outcomes.