Output details

Maternity Unit Design part 3 : environmental comfort and control

Control and empowerment are crucial aspects of contemporary midwifery. Enabling a labouring woman to be in control is believed to aid the normal physiological process. This paper presents data from a questionnaire survey of 559 mothers and 227 ward-based staff. The research aimed to address these issues and this paper discusses the issues of comfort in and control over the interior environment, from the perspectives of both mothers and midwives.

While most mothers felt they could control the lighting within the birthing room, this was not the case in all the units surveyed; few acknowledged that they could adjust temperature or ventilation within the room. Staff attitudes towards this varied: 24% of midwives believed that such control should not be given to labouring or postnatal women. A perceived lack of control over environmental variables was common among midwives. Adverse comments about oppressive heating and lighting were common. Environmental noise was an irritant for some and was also cited as a factor in reducing work effectiveness. This research is original in that to date no studies have explicitly considered individual control over environmental variables and its association with satisfaction levels. It is also significant in that it was a national (England) study which had an overall sample size of 786 participants. The methodology was rigorous and employed several methods including questionnaires with a large sample which were subjected to critical statistical analysis, and on-site focus groups. The paper is published in the British Journal of Midwifery, one of the leading journals in this field and underwent a rigorous peer review process.

The research was funded by NHS Estates (now Department of Health)