The Maternity Survey 1946
Of the 458 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland at that time, 424 (92%) agreed to take part.
Responses
| % | Number | |
| Successful Interviews | 90.5 | 13,687 |
| Mothers refused | 1.9 | 287 |
| Mothers untraced | 7.3 | 1,109 |
| Forms spoiled | 0.3 | 47 |
| Total confirmed births | 15,130 |
Questionnaires
There were two versions of the Maternity Survey:
- Version A: ‘
The Maternity Study‘ – focused more on ante-natal care and the birth process - Version B: ‘ The Costs Study‘ – focused more on the costs associated with pregnancy
The 424 co-operating authorities were randomly divided into two groups. In no case did a single authority receive both types of questionnaire.
The response rate for the maternity study was 91.5% and the response rate for the costs study was 89.3%.
| % | Number | |
| Version A: Maternity study | 53.2 | 7,287 |
| Version B: Costs study | 46.8 | 6,400 |
| Total | 13,687 |
A detailed description of the sampling and methodology of the original maternity study is given in Douglas JWB, ‘Maternity in Great Britain’ (1948).
Question Topics
| Version A | Version B | |
| The Mother and her work | A | B |
| Care of this baby | A | B |
| Antenatal care \ (more questions in version A) |
A | B |
| The confinement \ (more questions in version A) |
A | B |
| Getting up etc. \ (more questions in version A) |
A | B |
| Help in house and care of the children | B | |
| Extra nourishment during pregnancy | B | |
| Household composition | A | B |
| Maternity benefits | B | |
| Cost of pregnancy | B | |
| Occupation of father | A | B |
The LHA only hold data from the maternity study for the 5,362 people in the NSHD.