How did you experience the birth of your child(ren)?

This survey is conducted in two languages. Here you can find the same information about this research in Dutch.

What is the name of the study?

The BESt Study: Birth Experience Study.

What do we study ?

The study examines which positive and/or negative experiences pregnant women have experienced during childbirth. It also investigates what the impact of the course of birth on women’s experiences. In Australia, Sweden and Denmark similar data of the BEST study has been conducted, which makes it possible to benchmark the results between those countries.

What is a birth intervention?

A birth medical procedure that can be used to induce labour, strengthen contractions or help the baby be born (cesarean section).

What are valid questionnaires?

Valid questionnaires are questionnaires that have been evaluated so that they can measure the concepts well with the questions asked.

What is the aim of the study?

The study examines the course of mode of birth on women’s experiences, and it’s impact on maternal health.

Why is this study important?

If the impact on maternal health is known, we can can improve existing maternity care and maternity care after childbirth.

What does the study look like?

The study consists of a questionnaire, consisting of several validated measures which measure respect, autonomy, continuity of care, and measure perception of received. The questionnaire also contains items about background data (including age, ethnicity, income), pregnancy (complications), and childbirth (birth interventions).

Who are the researchers?

The study is carried out by:

Project leader: assistant professor Dr Lilian Peters (epidemiologist)

Other involved researchers from Midwifery Science:

• Assistant professor Dr. Esther Feijen-de Jong (Midwife)
• Assistant professor Dr. Jens Henrichs (Psychologist)
• Catja Warmelink (Senior Lecturer at the Amsterdam Midwifery Academy)
• Caroline Geerts (Senior Lecturer at the Amsterdam Academy of Midwifery)

Who can participate?

If you gave birth in the past 5 years (after May 2017) after a pregnancy of at least 22 weeks in the Netherlands, you could participate. There were two versions, a Dutch one and an English one. You must also have given birth in the Netherlands in the past 5 years to participate in this questionnaire.

In what stage is the research at the moment?

You can’t participate anymore. We are analysing the results at the moment.

What has the study shown?

We expect to have the first results end of 2023.

Who can you contact if you have questions or if you want more information?

If you have questions, you can contact the research team via  beststudie@umcg.nl