What Pregnant Women Want to Know: A Comparison of Client and Provider Perceptions

Objective: To compare client and health‐care provider perceptions concerning health topics. Design: A survey conducted at the first prenatal visit asked women to indicate levels of interest in 38 topics. Providers answered the same survey, indicating perceptions of clients' interests. Setting: A prenatal clinic and a private office, both in an inner city area. Participants: Two groups of prenatal clients (n =135 private care and n =250 public care) and their health‐care providers (n =32 nurses and physicians). Results: Significant differences were found (p < .01 for four topics, p < .05 for six topics) between the clients' interests and the providers' perceptions. Women in private and public care differed significantly (p < .01) in their levels of interest. Interest was significantly affected by parity, but not maternal education. Conclusions: Nurses and other health professionals should be aware of the range of topics in which clients express interest. This study suggests that site of care and parity should be considered when developing prenatal health education.