Dutch women's decision-making in pregnancy and labour as seen through the eyes of their midwives.

Objective: a national study of midwives' perceptions of women's decision-making in the technical interventions in the birth process.

Design: questionnaire survey of women and their midwives. Midwives completed a maternity record for each woman in the study after the birth, and the women completed a demographic questionnaire at to 20-24 weeks gestation.

Bad experience, good birthing: Dutch low-risk pregnant women with a history of sexual abuse.

Objective: The long-term effects on women in childbirth with a history of sexual abuse have only been studied to a limited degree. We estimated the prevalence of lifetime experience among low-risk pregnant women (non-clinical) in The Netherlands as well as the association with (1) psycho-social outcomes, and (2) the birth process.

Methods: Study of 625 randomly selected low-risk pregnant women.

Does a pregnant woman's intended place of birth influence her attitudes toward and occurrence of obstetric interventions?

Background: A home confinement with midwifery care is still an integral part of Dutch maternity care. It has been argued that the existence of home birth itself influences the course of the birth process positively, which is why obstetric interventions are low in comparison with neighboring countries. This study examined the impact of women's intended place of birth (home or hospital) and the course of pregnancy and labor when attended by midwives.