General practice consultation rates for mothers and babies in the first year after birth according to place of birth. A descriptive study in one general practice

Abstract

Maternal and infant health in primary care following childbirth is an important area which has recevied little research attention. Very little is known about primary health service use following childbirth and its determinants. The aim of this exploratory study was to test the hypothesis that place of birth is independently associated with mother and baby consultation patterns in the first year of life. This is a descriptive study of 453 pregnancies of 338 mothers from an inner city general practice between 1987 and 1996. There were 86 intended home births, 126 intended domino births and 240 intended hospital births, with one woman unbooked. Of these, 69 women had home births, 97 had domino ..