Preventive Care In Nursing and Midwifery Journal

en Women’s satisfaction with preconception care and childbearing counseling services: A cross-sectional study Midwifery Orginal research <div style="text-align: justify;">Background: Women’s satisfaction with fertility counseling and preconception care is a key indicator of the quality of reproductive health services. Objectives: This study aimed to assess satisfaction levels and their determinants among women of reproductive age attending urban Comprehensive Health Service Centers in Shahroud, Iran. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to December 2022 involving 319 women selected through multistage sampling from all 10 urban health centers in Shahroud County. Data were collected immediately after preconception care visits using a validated 35-item questionnaire covering two domains: childbearing counseling (11 items, score range 11–55) and preconception care (24 items, score range 24–120). Scores were converted to percentages and categorized as low (<51%), moderate (51–75%), or high (>75%) satisfaction. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22. Results: Mean satisfaction scores were 29.59 (8.34) for childbearing counseling (53.8%) and 56.59 (15.67) for preconception care (47.2%), indicating moderate to low satisfaction overall (total score: 86.18 (20.76), 49.2%). Highest satisfaction in counseling was for “husband’s presence during counseling” (36.1% strongly agreed), and lowest was for “education was sufficient and understandable” (0.6% strongly agreed). In preconception care, the highest disagreement was with “ease of locating the service site” (64.9%), and the lowest strong agreement was for “midwife’s behavior was polite” (1.3%). Key deficiencies included inadequate education, poor communication, unclear risk explanation, and structural barriers. Community health worker accessibility was noted as a relative strength. Conclusion: Low satisfaction primarily stemmed from poor communication, insufficient education, and infrastructural challenges. Enhancing provider communication, educational quality, privacy, and multidisciplinary access is essential.  </div> Preconception Care, Childbearing Counseling, Reproductive Health Services, Quality of Health Care 50 58 http://nmcjournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1023-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 fatemeh ghaffari sardasht ghaffarisf3@mums.ac.ir 100319475328460014451 100319475328460014451 Yes Phd in Reproductive health, school of nursing and midwifery, medical sciences university of Neyshabur,Neyshabur,Iran maryam sadeghi mrymsadqy5@gmail.com 100319475328460014452 100319475328460014452 No Master of Midwifery, Firuzeh County Health and Treatment Network, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran Afsaneh Keramat Keramat1@yahoo.com 100319475328460014453 100319475328460014453 No phd in Reproductive Health, Reproductive Studies and Women’s Health Research Center, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran