Abstract
Objective: To summarize what is known about satisfaction with childbirth, with particular attention
to the roles of pain and pain relief. Study Design: A systematic review of 137 reports of factors influencing women's evaluations of
their childbirth experiences. The reports included descriptive studies, randomized
controlled trials, and systematic reviews of intrapartum interventions. Results were
summarized qualitatively. Results: Four factors—personal expectations, the amount of support from caregivers, the quality
of the caregiver-patient relationship, and involvement in decision making—appear to
be so important that they override the influences of age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity,
childbirth preparation, the physical birth environment, pain, immobility, medical
interventions, and continuity of care, when women evaluate their childbirth experiences.
Conclusion: The influences of pain, pain relief, and intrapartum medical interventions on subsequent
satisfaction are neither as obvious, as direct, nor as powerful as the influences
of the attitudes and behaviors of the caregivers. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2002;186:S160-72.)
Keywords
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Article Info
Footnotes
☆Supported by the University of Toronto.
☆☆Reprint requests: Professor Ellen Hodnett, RN, PhD, Maternal-Child Nursing Research Unit, 790 Bay St, Suite 950, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1N8, Canada.
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© 2002 Published by Elsevier Inc.
