Attitude and Beliefs Study Objectives: 
1. To determine the attitudes and beliefs of maternity care providers (obstetricians, family physicians, nurses, midwives, doulas) toward central concepts in maternity care
2. To determine the attitudes and beliefs of women who are pregnant with their first baby and receiving maternity care
3. To elaborate an explanatory theory or model of how health care providers and women develop their attitudes and beliefs about labor and birth

Year 1-2:  Survey of Providers and Pregnant Women

We have surveyed maternity care providers across Canada using online and paper questionnaires. We accessed providers through their professional organizations and have collected over 2500 survey responses from across Canada, in both urban and rural locations. 

We are in the process of surveying pregnant women about their attitudes and beliefs towards birth.  We are using online and paper questionnaires.

Women who are pregnant with their first baby are invited to participate in this national study via the "poster and take-home bookmark" campaign in laboratory waiting rooms and in their practitioners’ offices; through articles and advertisements in Canadian print and online publications; and, as guests visiting our website.  

We will then be able to compare attitudes and beliefs of providers and women identify local and regional variations, and we will use these findings to inform our focus group discussions.

Year 3-4: Focus Groups
We will conduct a series of focus groups across Canada with the five provider groups and women who are pregnant with their first babies to assess how attitudes and beliefs have developed, if these attitudes and beliefs have impacted professional decisions and practices, and how they have influenced women’s decisions in selecting a maternity care provider.

Dissemination:
Our findings will be configured into recommendations, and a dissemination plan to help educators and professional organizations in rethinking undergraduate, postgraduate and practice-based education and to assist provincial and federal policy-makers in promoting a public dialog that will reframe vaginal birth in positive terms. Our findings will inform and hopefully guide policy efforts and decision-making around the key challenges facing maternity care in Canada.