Effects of a Personalized Web-based Antenatal Care Planner

Many women are turning to the Internet to meet their health information needs, but the large amount of information available, as well as the unknown reliability and applicability of information can be overwhelming. Studies in specific patient populations have determined that patients given access to personalized, on-line medical information are more satisfied with their care than patients provided generalized information. None of these studies have looked at whether this type of patient education would be helpful for pregnant women. This study is being done to determine whether pregnant women who have access to their own health records and personalized health information over the Internet are more satisfied with their prenatal care, and if they are more compliant with health visits and tests, compared to pregnant women who receive only generic pregnancy information on the Internet and from pamphlets

Women are being randomly assigned to receive secure access to pregnancy health information links chosen by the centre's physicians, or to receive these links with access to their online personal health that includes the antenatal record and a section of their care planner, from the centre's electronic medical record