ABSTRACT
Objective: There is lack of knowledge regarding antenatal care midwives’ perspectives concerning parental
classes provided during pregnancy, and this study aimed to explore midwives’ experiences and
thoughts about these parental class activities.
Methods: Twenty-six semi-structured, individual, telephone interviews were carried out with midwives
at antenatal clinics across Sweden, and the data were analysed using systematic text condensation
(STC).
Results: The midwives noted that parental classes were a demanding task, and they appeared to lack
the confidence and skills required to manage the classes. They expressed a “need for collaborators to
achieve the objectives” (theme 1). The midwives felt that “creating new networks is most valuable for
parents” (theme 2), and they were also “striving to give the ‘whole picture’ to both parents” (theme 3),
i.e. looking beyond just the delivery. Although they had the ambition, midwives realised it was “not possible
to reach all” (theme 4).
Conclusions: Organisational resources as well as developing skills to lead groups are imperative for midwives
to fulfil the goals of the parental classes. The midwives are aware that they cannot reach all parents
with the group format; thus, it is important to acknowledge the needs of minority populations and develop
multidisciplinary collaborations to be able to better address their needs.