Can Women’s Cognitive Appraisals Be Registered throughout Childbirth?

Abstract

The aims of the present study were: (a) to examine whether it was possible to measure women’s cognitive appraisals hourly during the whole process of labor and delivery, and (b) to explore how the appraisals varied during labor. Measurements from 12 nulliparous women are presented. The findings indicate that it is possible to study psychological appraisals directly, in detail and continuously during the process of labor and delivery. The women’s cognitive appraisals varied throughout labor both per individual woman and between the participating women.

Development and psychometric properties of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R)

“…Distress experienced during labour affects birth experience (Alehagen et al, 2000), with this inextricably linked to receiving an obstetric injury (Beck, 2009;McKenzieMcHarg, 2004;Geissbuehler and Eberhard 2002;Sorenson and Tschetter, 2010), such as caesarean section (Bryanton et al, 2008;Wax et al, 2004).…”

Labor pain in women with and without severe fear of childbirth: A population‐based, longitudinal study

“…15 Nevertheless, mental health factors alone did not dissolve the significant effect of severe fear of childbirth on the experience of labor pain. 4,5 Moreover, the use of anesthetics was related to pain perception, as women using nitrous oxide or epidural/ spinal anesthetics scored higher on the pain-rating scale compared with women who gave birth without these anesthetics. 16 In our study, women with severe fear of childbirth tended to use more anesthetics than women without such severe fear, which is in line with previous research.…”

“…Some older studies investigated the link between antenatal anxiety and labor pain perception. 1,5 Hence, the overall aim of this study was to examine whether severe fear of childbirth increases pain perceptions during childbirth. 8 It is well known that women's experience of labor pain is affected by a variety of factors, 23 including perceived pain of menstrual cramps, 16,24 anesthetics, 16 and psychosocial and psychological factors, such as personal control beliefs, confidence in oneself, the partner, and the career.…”

The reversed Birth Satisfaction Scale: translation, adaptation and validation for a Greek sample

“…Staff also require to be flexible, informal, interested and friendly 31,33 , and at the same time being professional, skilled and knowledgeable 31,33 . In the presence of negative birth perceptions and perceived low-quality relationships with care providers, women's long-term memories of negative experiences can be preserved 31,33,35 . When women feel treated as objects, such disaffirming is significantly correlated with negative birth perceptions 20,31,33 .…”

“…Negative outcomes are related to disaffirmation expressed through verbal and nonverbal provider interactions, with healing effects reported from supportive interactions 31,33 . According to (Q7), 'I found giving birth a distressing experience', distress experienced during labour affects birth experience 35 , with this inextricably linked to receiving an obstetric injury 20,31,33,36 , such as caesarean section 31,33,36 . In the Scotland validation study, in accordance with (Q8), 'I felt out of control during my birth experience', feeling in control has been securely linked with women's experiences of birth satisfaction 37,38 .…”