Patient-Provider Interaction and Maternal Experiences in Childbirth

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Maternal mortality is a major issue within the United States, especially for Black mothers, who have disproportionately high maternal death rates. Despite this, it is still not understood what aspects of childbirth lead to this disparity. Patient-provider interaction is one element of childbirth that has not been fully examined within this context. Through 19 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with mothers who gave birth in 2021 or after in Chapel Hill or the surrounding areas, this paper seeks to explore what aspects of their interactions with their providers most affected their birth experiences, and to what degree these experiences varied by race. I found that mothers have different needs for different types of providers based on their role. Mothers identified communication, trust, education, kindness, compassion, and support as the most important aspects of their relationships with their providers. Non-white mothers&rsquo; preparation for and experience of childbirth is affected by their race. White mothers did not show the same awareness of their own race or their providers&rsquo; races. While having support persons with them as advocates was positive for several mothers, ultimately the quality of provider interaction was most important, and advocacy from their support persons did not protect them from negative interactions with providers. Prior knowledge or experience was identified as a factor that could improve a mother&rsquo;s experience. These findings convey the importance of how providers approach caring for mothers, where they can improve upon in their interactions with mothers, and how to improve maternal health outcomes through prioritizing maternal care.&nbsp;</span> &nbsp;