Nurse attitudes toward childbirth: a concept clarification.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Maternal Health
• Healthcare Attitudes

Background:

• Escalating cesarean birth rates may be linked to perceptions of childbirth as an illness.
• Nurses' attitudes influence care practices and patient outcomes, including cesarean birth rates.
• Clarifying the concept of "nurse attitudes toward childbirth" is essential for future research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To clarify the concept of "nurse attitudes toward childbirth."
• To establish a foundation for research on nurse attitudes and their impact on childbirth outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of English-language studies from 1990 to present.
• Utilized CINAHL, PubMed, and Ovid databases for data retrieval.
• Employed Norris's model of concept clarification for systematic analysis.

Main Results:

• The nursing literature lacked a clear definition and conceptual framework for "nurse attitudes."
• Psychology has extensively studied attitudes, establishing their predictive power for behavior (e.g., theory of planned behavior).
• Identified various "nurse attitudes toward childbirth" and five central beliefs, leading to a preliminary model based on the theory of planned behavior.

Conclusions:

• "Nurse attitudes toward childbirth" is a valid and important concept for research.
• Labor and delivery nurses possess distinct attitudes toward childbirth.
• Measuring these attitudes can predict nursing care intentions and behaviors, offering insights into the rising primary cesarean birth rate.