Changes in the basic birth beliefs following the first birth experience: Self-fulfilling prophecies?

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Psychology of Childbirth
• Maternal Well-being

Background:

• Women hold fundamental beliefs about birth as either a natural or medical process.
• These core beliefs influence childbirth choices and experiences.
• Understanding the development of these beliefs is crucial but not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess how objective and subjective childbirth experiences impact changes in women's core beliefs about birth.
• To investigate the relationship between birth experience and the evolution of natural versus medical birth beliefs.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 342 first-time Israeli mothers.
• Self-report questionnaires administered prenatally and two months postpartum.
• Analysis of changes in beliefs regarding birth as a natural or medical process.

Main Results:

• On average, beliefs in birth as a natural process weakened postpartum, while beliefs in birth as a medical process strengthened.
• A more medicalized birth experience correlated with stronger medical birth beliefs.
• Higher birth satisfaction was linked to stronger natural birth beliefs.

Conclusions:

• Childbirth experience significantly alters core beliefs about birth, with objective and subjective aspects playing distinct roles.
• Fulfilled expectations regarding satisfaction, naturalness, or medicalization mediate belief reinforcement.
• Empowering mothers, particularly after medicalized or unsatisfactory births, is vital for maintaining belief in physiological birth.