Skip to main content
PMC home page
The BMJ logoLink to The BMJ
. 1994 Sep 24;309(6957):777–779. doi: 10.1136/bmj.309.6957.777

Opinions of general practitioners in Nottinghamshire about provision of intrapartum care.

D J Brown 1
PMCID: PMC2541013  PMID: 7950566

Abstract

OBJECTIVE--To examine the beliefs of general practitioners concerning intrapartum care. DESIGN--Postal questionnaire survey. SUBJECTS--All general practitioners with patients in Nottinghamshire Family Health Services Authority in September 1993. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--General practitioners' current involvement in maternity care, and beliefs on intrapartum care. RESULTS--Of 694 general practitioners sent questionnaires, 550 (79.2%) replied. 529 of these were on the obstetric list; 437 had not attended a delivery in the past 12 months; 36 had attended two or more; 358 general practitioners did not wish to provide more intrapartum care; 349 did not feel competent to do so. Reasons for not wanting to provide intrapartum care included current workload (453), disruption to personal life (407), and the fear of litigation (377). General practitioners who already booked women for home delivery were more likely to wish to do more deliveries (62/42 v 61/316, chi 2 = 85.3; P < 0.0001) and to have more positive attitudes towards increasing women's choice in maternity care (90/22 v 195/151, chi 2 = 227; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS--The involvement of general practitioners in intrapartum care in Nottinghamshire is low, and most general practitioners are unwilling to increase their role. However, general practitioners who already book for home delivery are keen to do more.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bull M. J. The general practitioner accoucheur in the 1980s. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1981 Jun;31(227):357–367. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Chambers R., Belcher J. Work patterns of general practitioners before and after the introduction of the 1990 contract. Br J Gen Pract. 1993 Oct;43(375):410–412. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Costello A. M., Bhutta T. I. Antidiarrhoeal drugs for acute diarrhoea in children. BMJ. 1992 Jan 4;304(6818):1–2. doi: 10.1136/bmj.304.6818.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Loudon I. Obstetrics and the general practitioner. BMJ. 1990 Oct 3;301(6754):703–707. doi: 10.1136/bmj.301.6754.703. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Marsh G. N., Cashman H. A., Russell I. T. General practitioner obstetrics in the Northern region in 1983. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Mar 23;290(6472):901–903. doi: 10.1136/bmj.290.6472.901. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Martin-Bates C., Agass M., Tulloch A. J. General practice workload during normal working hours in training and non-training practices. Br J Gen Pract. 1993 Oct;43(375):413–416. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Nesbitt T. S., Kahn N. B., Tanji J. L., Scherger J. E. Factors influencing family physicians to continue providing obstetric care. West J Med. 1992 Jul;157(1):44–47. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Smith L. F., Jewell D. Roles of midwives and general practitioners in hospital intrapartum care, England and Wales, 1988. BMJ. 1991 Dec 7;303(6815):1443–1444. doi: 10.1136/bmj.303.6815.1443. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Young G. Are isolated maternity units run by general practitioners dangerous? Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1987 Mar 21;294(6574):744–746. doi: 10.1136/bmj.294.6574.744. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Young G. Safety and the place of birth. Practitioner. 1993 Oct;237(1531):736–738. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from BMJ : British Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES