Introduction of a Third Trimester Pregnancy Patient Education Guide and Effects on Patient Satisfaction With Counseling: A Prospective Cohort Study

TL;DR

A study tested if a third trimester pregnancy guide improved patient satisfaction with counseling, finding no overall effect but high recommendation rates.

Contribution

A novel third trimester pregnancy education guide was introduced and evaluated for its impact on patient satisfaction and counseling perception.

Findings

No significant difference in overall satisfaction with third trimester and delivery counseling between groups.

Patients who received the guide felt more adequately counseled about pain management in childbirth.

75% of guide recipients reported reduced anxiety and stress about the unknown, and all would recommend the guide.

Abstract

To assess whether a workflow change introducing a third trimester pregnancy education guide would be associated with increased patient satisfaction regarding prenatal counseling.

We surveyed pregnant patients between 34w0d‐41w6d during a single prenatal appointment at one of two hospital‐associated offices. We enrolled 49 ‘pre‐guide’ patients March‐May 2023 and 50 ‘post‐guide’ patients October–December 2023, after a 4‐month washout period. We performed t‐tests and chi‐squared analyses to compare the groups.

The cohorts had similar sociodemographic characteristics aside from lower education level in the post‐guide cohort (p = 0.01). There was no significant difference between the groups and their reported satisfaction with third trimester and delivery counseling (p = 0.92). Those who received the guide were more likely to feel they were more adequately counseled regarding ‘pain management in childbirth’ (p = 0.01), but there were no other statistically significant differences between the groups. Of those who received the guide, 75% felt that it reduced their anxiety and stress about the unknown and 100% would recommend it to others.

We did not find that introduction of an informational guide about the third trimester of pregnancy significantly affected their satisfaction with their third trimester and delivery counseling or patient perception of the adequacy of counseling on specific pregnancy topics. All patients who received the guide noted they would recommend it to others.

Figures