Table 2.
Sample Characteristics
| Women (n = 41) | |
|---|---|
| Age range | 19–42 |
| Parity | |
| Nulliparous | 18 (44%) |
| Multiparous | 23 (55%) |
| NICE Pregnancy risk profilea | |
| Low‐risk pregnancy/obstetric history | 28 (68%) |
| Individual assessment requiredb | 5 (12%) |
| Complex pregnancy—birth in hospital OU recommended | 8 (20%) |
| NS‐SEC employment occupational categoriesc | |
| Managerial | 20 |
| Intermediate (clerical/administrative) | 4 |
| Routine (e.g., sales work, services work or gardening) | 3 |
| Full time student | 4 |
| Not working | 10 |
| Maternal educationd | |
| Completed schooling with no educational qualifications | 4 |
| Completed schooling at 16 with school‐leaving certificate or equivalent | 2 |
| Completed schooling at 18 with university entry‐level qualification or equivalent | 7 |
| Postschool vocational qualifications (e.g., further education diploma) | 8 |
| Undergraduate or postgraduate degree | 21 |
| Ethnicity | |
| White British | 23 |
| White, other (includes European, Australian, American/Canadian) | 9 |
| Black or mixed white and black | 5 |
| Indian (originates in Indian subcontinent) or mixed white and Indian | 2 |
| Chinese or mixed white and Chinese/Asian | 2 |
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the United Kingdom body which generates national clinical guidelines; the risk categories used here are detailed in the NICE guideline 55 “Intrapartum Care: Care of healthy women and their babies during childbirth” 28.
Women with NICE intermediate risk factors require individual assessment in relation to planning place of birth, but intermediate risks factors are not in themselves indications for OU birth 28.
National Statistical Socio‐Economic Categories 46.
Women in the sample had been educated in a range of countries, and held qualifications with different names, so these categories describe the highest level of education obtained by women at the time of inclusion in the study.