Expectations of birth are thought to have important effects on a woman’s experience of birth, and her satisfaction with her care. For her to have a positive experience, her priority expectations need to be met. If there is a gap between her expectations and the reality of her birth, it may impact on her psychological and physical wellbeing postnatally. This gap has been documented widely in the published literature when speaking to women and staff. However, there has been little opportunity to quantify this gap, or the impact it has.

This study provides a unique opportunity to quantify and explore the expectation-reality gap, by using data collected over two decades. The Avon Longitudinal Survey of Parents and Children has been following women who had children in the South West of England in 1991/2, it has now started to follow their daughters having their babies. This means that inter-generational trends can be explored.
This work will allow us to define the expectation-reality gap and explore what causes it, its effects and suggest ways for reducing it in the future.