Table 1 Summary of studies included in qualitative meta-synthesis
Author/s | Aim | Intervention/s | Research Approach | Participants | Country | Findings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Methodology/Theoretical perspective | Methods | No. | Ethnicity of participants identified? | Indigenous Peoples included? | |||||
Ateah [56] | Determine first-time expectant parents’ perceptions of a parent education intervention, their education needs, and preferred sources and modes of such education. | 1 hr. in-person session carried out during the last class of a public health prenatal education series. | Quantitative study with some open-ended questions | Questionnaire | n = 16 women n = 15 men | Unknown | Unknown | United States | Most participants in study found content useful, planned to use it in caring for their infant, and indicated this information should be shared with all expectant mothers. |
Auger et al. [57] | Examine the effectiveness of a participatory prenatal education program for low-income Latinas. | Group intervention with three components, 1) use of photonovels, 2) participatory education, and 3) lay educator model. | Community-based participatory research approach | Surveys, focus groups, medical records | n = 43 | Fully (Latinas) | No | United States | Participants showed a significant increase in knowledge and confidence and reported an increase in social support, a deeper understanding of information, greater engagement, and behaviour change. |
Bourget et al. [58] | The development and evaluation of an educational intervention that aimed to promote the development of a sense of mastery of anticipated of the anticipated paternal role in soon-to-be fathers. | 4 educational sessions delivered to expectant fathers attending prenatal classes. | Preventive role supplementation conceptual framework | Questionnaire | n = 6 | Unknown | Unknown | Canada | Participants highly appreciated the content and format of the educational intervention, developing a sense of mastery of the anticipated paternal role. |
Broussard and Broussard [59] | Evaluate the Resource Center for Young Parents-To-Be project. | Six lessons for resource center young parents-to-be project. | Qualitative evaluation | Questionnaire | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | United States | The adolescents who have attended have given the resource center and the nursing students high marks. |
Fisher et al. [60] | Experiences of expectant mothers and their birth support partners participation in Mindfulness-based Child Birth education. | Mindfulness-based Child Birth education class. | Pedagogical approach | Focus group | n = 12 women n = 7 birth support partners | Unknown | Unknown | Australia | A sense of both ‘empowerment’ and ‘community’ were the essences of the experiences of MBCE for all participants. |
Fitzgerald et al. [61] | Seek a better understanding of needs and access issues among pregnant low-income Hispanic women who attended a community prenatal education program. | Community prenatal education program. | Phenomenological inquiry | Focus groups | n = 8 | Fully (Hispanic) | No | United States | Adequate and culturally appropriate health care services to pregnant Hispanic women in the greater Louisville metropolitan area is still lacking. |
Gambrel and Piercy [62] | Understand the lived experiences of participants in the Mindful Transition to Parenthood Program. | 4-week Mindful Transition to Parenthood Program. | Phenomenological inquiry | Semi-structured interviews | n = 26 (13x couples) | Fully (Caucasian and non-Hispanic, American Indian and Caucasian, Latino, Asian American, other, did not answer) | Yes | United States | Participants stated that the programme increased their acceptance and awareness, deeper connections with their partners, and led them to be more confident about becoming parents. |
Gentles et al. [63] | Evaluate the TAPUAKI programme for the effectiveness and delivery of its curriculum to pregnant mothers. | TAPUAKI pregnancy and parenting programme. | Pacific talanoa methodological design. Qualitative thematic analysis . | Survey questionnaires, focus group interviews | n = 13 | Fully (Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands Māori) | No | New Zealand | Participants reported that their knowledge about pregnancy and parenting had increased as a result of the programme, with women responding positively and feeling a benefit through attending. |
Koehn [64] | Describe and understand contemporary childbearing women’s perceptions of the role of childbirth education in preparing for birth. | Childbirth preparation class. | Grounded theory | Open-ended interviews | n = 9 | Fully (Caucasian) | No | United States | Participant’s narratives support a relationship between childbirth education and readiness for the childbirth experience. |
Levett et al. [65] | Gain insight into the experiences of women, partners and midwives who participated in the Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth Study, an evidence based complementary medicine (CM) antenatal education course. | Complementary medicine antenatal education course. | Qualitative Study | In-depth interviews, focus group | n = 13 | Fully (Caucasian, Asian) | No | Australia | Women used information about normal birth physiology from the course to make sense of labour, and to utilise the CM techniques to support normal birth and reduce interventions in labour. Women’s, partners’ and midwives’ experience of the course and its use during birth gave rise to supporting themes such as: working for normal; having a toolkit; and finding what works. |
Liu et al. [66] | Examine how the CenteringPregnancy, a model of group prenatal care and childbirth education, influenced the birth experience of immigrant and minority women. | CenteringPregnancy group prenatal care and childbirth education. | Thematic analysis | In-depth interviews, surveys | n = 34 | Fully (American Indian/Alaska Native, African American, Latina, White, Multi-racial) | Yes | United States | Participation in CenteringPregnancy model successfully equipped participants with a variety of pain and copping methods. Women reported high levels of satisfaction with their birth experiences. |
Mackert et al. [67] | Explore the use of an e-health application to educate men about pregnancy-related health. | E-health application. | Qualitative study | Semi-structured interviews | n = 23 | Fully (White, Hispanic, Asian, multiracial or other, Black) | Unknown | United States | The overwhelming positive reactions of participants both to the health issue, content, and design of the intervention is promising. |
McNeil et al. [68] | Understand the central meaning of the experience of group prenatal care for women who participated in CenteringPregnancy; a forum for women to experience medical care and child birth education simultaneously and in a group setting. | Group prenatal care: forum for women to experience medical care and child birth education simultaneously. | Phenomenological approach | One-on-one interviews and/or group sessions | n = 12 | Fully (Non-Caucasian) | Unknown | Canada | The central meaning of the experience of group prenatal care for women in this study was getting more than they realized they needed, with women gaining more from group prenatal care than from individual care. |
Munro et al. [69] | Explore women’s preferences for a prenatal education program by text messaging. | SmartMom mHealth program for prenatal education. | Formative qualitative evaluation | Questionnaire, focus groups | n = 40 | Unknown | Unknown | Canada | Participants perceived SmartMom to be highly acceptable and relevant for childbearing Canadian women. |
Nash [54] | To examine how first-time fathers in rural Tasmania experienced father-only antenatal support/education groups. | Two classes, 1) government health service not-for-profit and 2) private company men’s antenatal education classes in a pub. | Masculinity | Semi-structured interviews | n = 25 | Partially (Most Anglo-Australian) | Unknown | Australia | Father-only groups can be improved by accounting for multiple and complex constructions of masculinity, increasing the number of sessions offered and altering the structure to suit the audience. |
Nash [55] | Explore how a cohort of 25 first-time fathers experienced 2 different father only antenatal support/education groups. | Two father-only antenatal support/education groups; 1) GBADC AND 2) Bubs and Pubs. | Masculinity | Semi-structured interviews | n = 25 | Partially (Most Anglo-Australian) | Unknown | Australia | Antenatal education-support programs in Tasmanian fail to recognize the multiple, complex constructions of masculinity that characterize the current generation of expectant fathers. Father only programs can be improved by increasing the number of sessions offered and by altering the structure. |
Spicer [70] | Interpret and understand how antenatal education, both with and without hypnosis, impacted a mother’s birthing experience. | Two classes 1) Traditional antenatal education and antenatal education with the inclusion of hypnosis. | Hermeneutic phenomenological and interpretive approach. | Interview | n = 12 | Unknown | Unknown | Australia | Antenatal education affects the ability of both mother and partner to manage labour and childbirth to their perceived level of satisfaction. The inclusion of hypnosis in antenatal education provided mothers with a powerful and useful intervention. |