Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026

An Experimental Paradigm for the Prediction of Post-Operative Pain (PPOP)
Published on: January 27, 2010
Predictors of women's perceptions of the childbirth experience
Janet Bryanton1, Anita J Gagnon, Celeste Johnston
1School of Nursing at the University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. jbryanton@upei.ca
Objective:
To determine the factors that predict women's perceptions of the childbirth experience and to examine whether these vary with the type of birth a woman experiences.
Design:
Prospective cohort study.
Setting:
The postpartum units of two eastern Canadian hospitals.
Participants:
Six hundred fifty two women and their newborns.
Data Collection:
Data were collected in hospital at 12 to 48 hours postpartum using self-report questionnaires and chart review.
Main Outcome Measure:
Perception of the childbirth experience was measured for women having a vaginal and emergency cesarean birth using the Questionnaire Measuring Attitudes About Labor and Delivery and planned cesarean birth using the Modified Questionnaire Measuring Attitudes About Labor and Delivery.
Results:
Of the 20 predictors of women's childbirth perceptions, the strongest were type of birth; degree of awareness, relaxation, and control; helpfulness of partner support; and being together with the infant following birth.
Conclusions:
Of the predictors of a quality birth experience, most were amenable to nursing interventions: enhancement of patient awareness, relaxation, and control; promotion of partner support; and provision of immediate opportunities for women to be with their babies.
Related Concept Videos
Factors Affecting Perception
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Development of the Oral Microbiota
Stereotype Threat and Self-fulfilling Prophecies
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...