Materials and Methods
This is a single centre, prospective, observational cohort study of
patients attending antenatal clinic at a tertiary hospital in the North
Island of New Zealand. 203 pregnant people were surveyed anonymously
using a written questionnaire. No funding was sought.
The primary outcomes were the incidence of unexplained abdominal pain in
pregnancy and awareness of ‘Round Ligament Pain’. Secondary outcomes
were the source of the patients’ education about RLP, the frequency of
AWP descriptors used and the accumulation of AWP descriptors. Data are
presented in percentages, means, standard deviations, odds ratios and
95% confidence intervals.
The survey consisted of seven questions over one A4 page. Five of the
questions were multiple choice, two were free text. Antenatal clinic
staff approached patients, who then independently completed the written
questionnaire and submitted it to the response box that was cleared
daily.
Recruitment occurred between July and September 2021. To be included,
subjects had to provide informed written consent, speak English or have
a formal interpreter present, be at least 20 weeks’ pregnant and be 18
years of age or older