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Published on: January 27, 2010
A prospective study of women's views of factors contributing to a positive birth experience
T Lavender1, S A Walkinshaw, I Walton
1Liverpool Women's Hospital, UK.
Objective:
To explore the aspects of a woman's childbirth experience which she perceived as being important.
Design:
As part of a large randomised trial, which assessed the timing of intervention in prolonged labour, women's views were explored using a specifically-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire, which was administered on the second postnatal day, incorporated a rating scale followed by an open question. The responses to the open question are presented in this paper.
Setting:
Regional teaching hospital in the north west of England.
Sample:
615 primigravid women received a copy of the questionnaire. Of the 519 women who returned the questionnaire, 412 women answered the relevant section, the findings of which are presented in this paper.
Analysis:
The responses to the open-ended question were analysed by the generation of themes from the most frequently occurring responses.
Main Findings:
The main themes which emerged were support, information, intervention, decision making, control, pain relief and trial participation.
Key Conclusions And Implications For Practice:
Most women are able to identify important contributors to a positive intrapartum experience. Midwives have an important role in identifying these contributors and supporting women to fulfil their individual needs.
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