Characteristics of primiparous women who are not reached by parental education classes after childbirth in Sweden

Abstract

Parental education classes are part of the national child health promotion programme of the Swedish Child Health Clinics (CHC). To investigate attendance at parental education classes during the infant's first year, and to identify factors associated with non-attendance in primiparous women. Swedish-speaking women were recruited from 97% of all antenatal clinics in Sweden during 3 wk, evenly spread over 1 y from 1999 to 2000. Questionnaires were mailed in early pregnancy, and at 2 mo and 1 y after the birth. Two thousand, four hundred and forty women answered the main outcome question about class attendance asked in the third questionnaire, and 1076 of these were first-time mothers. Seventy-eight per cent of the primiparas attended classes and 31% of the multiparas. Factors associated with non-attendance in primiparas were: native language other than Swedish, a low level of education, smoking during pregnancy, inconvenient timing of pregnancy, feelings of loneliness and isolation, maternal hospital admission, and infant health problems. Three per cent of the primiparas did not attend classes either during pregnancy or after the birth, and this group seemed to constitute an even less privileged group. Parental education classes organized by the CHCs did not reach women who were more disadvantaged in terms of socio-demographic background, and maternal and infant health.