Personality and mode of delivery

Women's rights to request an elective cesarean section without a specific medical indication has been intensively debated during the last decade among healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to investigate if women requesting a cesarean section differ in their personality from those who plan a vaginal delivery. The aim was also to study differences between the groups in age, perceived health, and place of birth, IVF treatment, and family size planning.

Three hundred and twenty-eight pregnant women from two different groups, "cesarean section on maternal request" (n=84), and "vaginal delivery group" (n=242) completed the self-report inventory Karolinska Scales of Personality at 37-39 gestational weeks in pregnancy.

A significant difference in age was found between the cesarean and the vaginal group (mean age 33.9 years versus 30.8, p<0.001). Analysis of covariance of personality traits showed that the subscales Monotony avoidance (p<0.003) and Socialization (p<0.002) differed significantly between women requesting cesarean section and women planning a vaginal delivery. There were no differences between the groups in variables concerning the anxiety proneness scale.

Personality traits such as Socialization and Monotony avoidance differ significantly before birth between mothers who request a cesarean section and those who do not.