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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter February 6, 2009

Pregnant women's perception of cesarean section on demand

  • Sibil Tschudin , Judith Alder , Stephanie Hendriksen , Johannes Bitzer , Karoline Aebi Popp , Rosanna Zanetti , Irene Hösli , Wolfgang Holzgreve and Verena Geissbühler

Abstract

Aims: To assess pregnant women's awareness of and attitudes towards cesarean section (CS) on demand, as well as to identify specific target groups by focusing on differences dependant on the participants' background, parity and intended mode of delivery.

Methods: The study was conducted at two centers during three months. German-speaking pregnant women were invited to answer an anonymous, structured questionnaire. We compared urban vs. rural, nulliparous vs. parous and women opting for a CS vs. denying this wish, with regard to awareness and attitudes towards CS on demand.

Results: Ninety-two percent of the 201 participants were aware of the possibility to deliver by CS on demand. Their sources of information were mostly print media reports, television, or friends. Pain avoidance and missing the birth experience were the main reasons for and against CS on demand, respectively. For women opting for CS on demand, traumatically-experienced previous birth and the child's well-being were other important reasons for a CS.

Conclusions: Because negative birth experience appears to be decisive for pregnant women's attitude towards CS on demand and their perception of CS seems to be partly based on misconceptions, antenatal counseling should focus on these aspects.


Corresponding author: Sibil Tschudin, MD Division of Social Medicine and Psychosomatics Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Basel Spitalstrasse 21 CH-4031 Basel Switzerland Tel.: +41 61 325 90 67 Fax: +41 61 325 90 35

Received: 2008-7-18
Revised: 2008-9-30
Accepted: 2008-10-7
Published Online: 2009-02-06
Published Online: 2009-02-06
Published in Print: 2009-05-01

©2009 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York

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