Recruitment and consent
To recruit women to the survey, the bilingual researchers and
the health advocates attended the antenatal clinics in the community and at the birth centre. They approached eligible women
attending antenatal appointments at approximately 28–30 weeks
of gestation and invited them to participate. They provided printed
information in English and where the women's first language was
not English, verbal explanations of the study in th erelevant
language. The women were given two to four weeks to decide
whether to participate in the study.Formal records were not kept
of the uptake, but in general, women were keen to talk to the
research team.
Those who agreed were asked to return the signed informed
consent form to the midwife at the following appointment.
Participants were contacted by an own-language interviewer by
telephone on two occasions, the first at between 34 and 38 weeks
of pregnancy and the second at least two months after giving
birth, at a time to suit their convenience.