A Qualitative Approach to Examine Women%26apos;s Experience of Planned Cesarean

作者：Blueml Victor; Stammler Safar Maria; Reitinger Agnes K; Resch Irene; Naderer Andrea; Leithner Katharina^*

来源：Journal of Obstetric Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, 2012, 41(6): E82-E90.

DOI：10.1111/j.1552-6909.2012.01398.x

• planned cesarean
• birth experience
• qualitative analysis
• anxiety

Objective To investigate women%26apos;s expectations regarding cesarean and to assess the subjective experience of birth of these women. Because the birth experience is a multidimensional phenomenon, qualitative as well as quantitative approaches were used to investigate women%26apos;s expectations and experiences with cesarean. %26lt;br%26gt;Design Descriptive cohort study. %26lt;br%26gt;Setting The Division of Obstetrics and Feto-Maternal Medicine of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of an Austrian medical university. %26lt;br%26gt;Participants Forty-eight women with a planned cesarean birth. %26lt;br%26gt;Methods Semistructured interviews were conducted with the 48 women before (36th week of gestation) the planned cesarean and shortly thereafter. Data were analyzed by means of a qualitative content analysis. Anxiety, depression, and psychological distress were assessed using standardized questionnaires. %26lt;br%26gt;Results More than three fourths (81.3%) of the women were satisfied with the cesarean. Nevertheless, 83.3% of the women expressed anxiety about cesarean, including fears about the health of the infant, the epidural anesthesia, and possible complications. Before the cesarean, only one half of the women (54.2%) felt that they had been sufficiently informed about the planned cesarean, and only 25% had detailed knowledge about the specific course of events of the cesarean. Quantitative assessment showed low depression levels and overall psychological distress before and after the cesarean. State anxiety levels were high before the cesarean and moderate afterwards. %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusion Although the overall satisfaction and psychological tolerability of a planned cesarean is high, improvement is possible by providing more detailed information to the prospective mothers and by specifically addressing prevalent anxieties.

• 出版日期2012-12