An exploration of the attitudes of attenders and non-attenders towards antenatal education

Summary: Objective: To explore the attitudes of first time mothers towards antenatal education from the perspective of attenders and non-attenders. Design: A qualitative approach was utilised using focus group interviews to collect the data. Setting: The study was conducted in one Local Health Office Area of the Health Service Executive-South East, Ireland. Participants: A purposive sample of first time mothers were interviewed to explore the area of antenatal education. These women included both attenders and non-attenders at antenatal education. Key conclusions: The findings suggest there are many strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and barriers to antenatal education. Implications for practice: Some fundamental issues related to the provision and delivery of antenatal education were identified.