Prenatal education is an integrative part of prenatal care. Prenatal education content and teaching methods used in prenatal classes needs to be disclosed in a comprehensive format. The purpose of this integrative research review is to describe the state of the science in prenatal education from journals dated 1990-2000, including (1) description of the prenatal education content and (2) description of the teaching methodologies. A computer search using key terms related to prenatal education was conducted. Twelve journal articles, ten of which were quantitative research studies and two qualitative studies are reviewed and synthesized. Content and teaching methodologies used in childbirth classes, prenatal classes or antenatal classes, and family training classes are the elements included in this study.
Similarities and differences among studies are discussed. Results of this review indicated that prenatal education content was very similar among studies and that prenatal class' curriculum should offer a balance between topics regarding parenting skills and topics concerning pregnancy and childbirth preparation. The teaching methods most frequently identified were class and group discussions. Findings show that teaching methodologies should be selected in relation to participants' age, education level, childbirth knowledge and parenting experience. Certified childbirth educators, nurses, and nurse midwives are considered important experts in prenatal education.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:rtd-2251 |
| Date | 01 January 2001 |
| Creators | Legault, Guylaine |
| Publisher | University of Central Florida |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Retrospective Theses and Dissertations |
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