What women say about their birth experiences: a cross-cultural study

The reactions of 221 women to their place of delivery (state or private hospital), type of delivery (vaginal or Caesarean) and associated obstetrical interventions were explored by means of a structured interview conducted at 3 months postpartum. Women were randomly selected from the birth records of three cultural groups residing in the municiple area of Johannesburg, South Africa: White (n = 72), Indian (n = 79) and Mixed cultural origin (n = 78). The type of birth experienced by women differed in the cultural groups examined. While most women experienced positive emotional reactions to birth many also expressed a variety of negative reactions. The differences in care experienced by women in the present study reflect the impact of the two systems of care, private and state, that are available to women in South Africa.