Support, sensitivity, satisfaction: Filipino, Turkish and Vietnamese women's experiences of postnatal hospital stay Jane Yelland, Rhonda Small, Judith Lumley, Pranee Liamputtong Rice, Valerie Cotronei and Rosemary Warren Jane Yelland RN, BAppSc,Research Fellow, Rhonda Small BA, Grad Dip Epid., Research Fellow, |udith Lumley PhD, FAFPHM, Director, Valerie Cotronei BA, Vacation Student, Rosemary Warren RN, RM, BA, Vacation Student, Centre for the Study of Mothers' and Children's Health, La Trobe University, Locked Bag 6, Post Office, Carlton South, Victoria 3053, Australia Pranee Liamputtong Rice PhD, Lecturer, School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora Victoria 3083, Australia (Correspondence to JY) Manuscript accepted 21 February 1998 Objective: to assess Filipino, Turkish and Vietnamese women's views about their care during the postnatal hospital stay. Design: interviews were conducted with recent mothers in the language of the women's choice, 6-9 months after birth, by three bilingual interviewers. Participants: three hundred and eighteen women born in the Phillipines (107), Turkey (107) and Vietnam (I 04) who had migrated to Australia Setting: women were recruited from the postnatal wards of three maternity teaching hospitals in Helbourne, Australia, and interviewed at home. Findings: overall satisfaction with care was low, and one in three women left hospital feeling that they required more support and assistance with both baby care and their own personal needs. The method of baby feeding varied between the groups, with women giving some insight into the reason for their choice. A significant minority wanted more help with feeding, irrespective of the method. The need for rest was a recurrent theme, with women stating that staff's attitudes to individual preferences, coupled with lack of assistance, made this difficult. The majority of comments women made regarding their postnatal stay focused on the attitude and behaviour of staff and about routine aspects of care. Issues related to culture and cultural practices were not of primary concern to women. Conclusion: maternity services need to consider ways in which care can focus on the individual needs and preferences of women. INTRODUCTION Most societies recognise that women need both emotional support and practical help in the days following childbirth. In Australia, the postnatal hospital stay is promoted as an opportunity for women to rest and recuperate following birth and to receive guidance, support and information on baby care (Lumley et al 1990). This period of time can be both exciting and harrowing (Oakley 1981, Moss et al 1987) as women adjust physically and emotion- ally to the early days of motherhood. In 1995 in Victoria, Australia 24.6 % of confine- ments were to women who were born overseas (The Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity 1995). Of these, 73.5% were women who were born in non-English speak- ing countries. Despite this, only a small number of Australian studies have commented on the experiences of Midwifery(1998) 14, 144-154 © 1998 HarcourtBrace & Co. Ltd