Women's expectations about birth, requests for pain relief in labor and the subsequent development of birth dissonance and trauma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Birth is a significant event in women's lives. As Mansfield notes (2008) many women aim for a birth that avoids pharmacological pain relief because they are advised it is better for them and their baby. For women having their first baby, this may not be realistic as 3/4 of primiparous women in Australia will use pharmacological pain relief. This study examines the expectations that a group of women had regarding pain relief, how these expectations developed and what happened to requests for pain relief in labour.

Methods

A longitudinal prospective study design was used to recruit 15 women who were having their first baby. Women having low risk pregnancies, hoping for a 'natural birth' (vaginal, no/minimal pharmacological pain relief) were eligible. A semi-structur

SUBMITTER: Sutton E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10633977 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature