Changing Childbirth in British Columbia
Changing Childbirth in BC was the first study in the province to focus on person centred outcomes for pregnancy and birth. In 2014, over 4000 women participated in a survey and/or 20 focus groups, all across the province.
To design the study, our team worked with community based organizations (CBOs), and health workers that serve recent immigrants and refugees, formally incarcerated women, clients of midwives, and those experiencing housing instability. These CBO partners also helped to collect the data, to intepret the findings, and decided how to tell their stories, and who needed to hear them.
In the report, we describe their findings on preferences for care, access to care, and experiences of interactions with health care providers during pregnancy and childbirth care in BC.
If you have any questions about the results, please contact us.
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Download the executive summary here.
Full Report
Full Report
Download the full report here.
Help Amplify Women's Voices
Find social media content and graphics for sharing.
Help share what women want.
Find graphics, a brief video, and social media content to help share what women tell us about how they are experiencing birth in British Columbia.
What Happened to Me: Using Our Stories to Improve Birth in BC
A play inspired by conversations with families during a province wide study on pregnancy and childbirth in British Columbia
The Changing Childbirth in BC Study hosted a performance inspired by the thousands of stories families shared about their experiences of pregnancy and birth. Afterwards, participants joined for a Talk Back session, where they brought their own ideas on how to improve health care for parents and babies in BC.
Respect
Vedam S, Stoll K, Rubashkin N, Martin K, Miller-Vedam Z, Hayes-Klein H, Jolicoeur G, the CCinBC Steering Council. The Mothers on Respect (MOR) index: measuring quality, safety, and human rights in childbirth. Social Science and Medicine: Population Health, 2017, 3: 201-210.
Autonomy
Vedam S, Stoll K, Martin K, Rubashkin N, Partridge S, Thordarson, Jolicoeur G, the CCinBC Steering Council. The Mother’s Autonomy in Decision Making (MADM) Scale: patient-led development and psychometric testing of a new instrument to evaluate experience of maternity care. PLOS ONE, 2017,12(2): 1-17.
Changing Childbirth
Vedam S, Stoll K, McRae D, Martin R, MacRae L, Korchinski M, Jolicoeur G, CCinBC Steering Council. The Changing Childbirth in BC Study: examining autonomy in Canadian maternity care. Patient Education and Counselling, Nov 2018: 1-12.
Saying No Thanks
Niles P, Stoll K, Wang J, Black S, Vedam S. I fought my entire way: Experiences of declining maternity care services in British Columbia, PLOS One, June 4, 2021.
Declining Care
Stoll K, Wang J, Niles P, Wells L, Vedam S. I felt so much conflict instead of joy: an analysis of open-ended comments from people in British Columbia who declined care recommendations during pregnancy and childbirth. Reprod Health. 2021 Apr 15;18(1):79.