Health Education by Professionals During Pregnancy: Assessing Needs and Effectiveness

Abstract

Pregnancy care is undergoing an evolution. The trend toward professional control and technological intervention begun decades ago is under challenge by some women's groups and health professionals, who seek to make the pregnant woman herself the locus of control. In the same period, a developing literature concerning the relation of health to psychological and social factors has demonstrated their importance (3) and raised the issue of the place of social support and social action in health care (24).