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Abstract
Objective: To investigate the relationship between women’s postnatal psychological well-being and retrospective, self-reported satisfaction with intrapartum care and the birth experience. Background: The period immediately following childbirth can be marked by various problems that can affect a woman’s happiness and functioning. Previous research has suggested that aspects of the maternal experience of childbirth may act as predictors for specific indicators of women’s postnatal functioning. This study aimed to determine the relationship between satisfaction with labour and birth care and the general childbirth experience and a broad, comprehensive measure of subsequent psychological functioning. Methods: Data for this study was taken from relevant items in the Having a Baby in Queensland 2009 Pilot Survey. Researchers assessed maternal socio-demographic characteristics, perceptions of labour and birth care, satisfaction with labour and birth care, and perceived positivity of the birth experience. A dichotomous, composite measure of postnatal psychological functioning was derived from women’s responses to five separate survey items. Results: The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that women who felt they were looked after ‘very well’ and women who rated their birth experience as ‘very positive’ were significantly more likely to experience high postnatal functioning than women who did not rate their intrapartum care and birth experience as highly. Conclusions: Reducing the risk factors for dissatisfaction is critical in order to improve the likelihood of high maternal postnatal functioning. The findings of this study emphasise the importance of intrapartum care in the development of positive functioning in women who have recently given birth.
Acknowledgements
The research on which this article is based was conducted as part of the Having a Baby in Queensland Survey Program of the Queensland Centre for Mothers & Babies at The University of Queensland. We are grateful to Queensland Health for funding and to the women who provided survey data. The Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages contacted women to invite them to participate on behalf of the Queensland Centre for Mothers & Babies to ensure women’s privacy was protected. We thank Yvette Miller, Samantha Prosser, Julie Porter and Ashleigh Armanasco for their roles in data collection and preparation.