Maternal education during the perinatal period.

The nature of perinatal education has been transformed, reflecting the changes in health care and health care consumers. Because of short maternity stays, the venue of most perinatal education, especially postpartum education, has moved from hospitals to other areas, including the home. In light of conflicting findings of past research examining the effectiveness of prenatal education as well as gaps in the literature, there is a need for research on the content, methods, providers, and dose effect of perinatal education.