Intimacy and privacy during childbirth. a pilot-study testing a new self-developed questionnaire: the childbirth intimacy and privacy scale (CIPS)

Abstract

Introduction. based on the findings of academic literature, evidence has found that physical and social environment play an inherent role in the birthing procedure. birth is a natural process, with a specific sequence of hormonal changes and communication between mother and baby. environmental stress, through a surge of adrenaline, can hinder the unfolding of the special physiological responses, and as a consequence of the contractions becoming less strong and frequent, the birthing process can stop. for this reason, privacy and intimacy are of special importance around the labouring mother. Aim. the aim of our study was to explore what role privacy and intimacy play during labour and delivery. furthermore, we aimed to discover whether perceived stress is related to privacy and intimacy experienced by mothers. Material and methods. the newly created childbirth Intimacy and privacy scale (cIps) is introduced to measure physical and social privacy, safety and some other features which proved to be important during the birthing process keeping it on the physiological level. additionally, we assessed stress experienced during birth with the shortened version of the perceived stress scale (pss). Results. pss and cIps measures showed satisfactory internal consistency, data came from a normal distribution and items were strongly intercorrelated. significant differences were found in pss regarding education, marital status and socio-economic status (ses). mothers with single marital status and low ses reported significantly higher perceived stress. out of all cIps items, mothers indicated high levels of privacy in features regarding no photos being taken, continuity of care throughout labour and delivery, patience and security provided by birth attendants and a lack of embarrassment in their presence. no significant differences were found when testing the mean value of the total score by using anova; however, intimacy and privacy seemed to be slightly higher among mothers over 30 years old, having at least a third child, married, with lower qualifications and higher ses. Conclusions. cIps has proven to be an adequate measuring tool for assessing intimacy and privacy experienced by mothers during the birthing procedure. when privacy was rated high on the scale mothers perceived less stress and when rated low they experienced higher levels of stress. therefore, if mother-focused care is the goal, caregivers should create and foster an atmosphere where intimacy and privacy are present, making a more satisfying birth possible with less interventions needed.

Nurses and midwives’ experiences of using non-pharmacological interventions for labour pain management: a qualitative study in Ghana

“…Another barrier that prevented the nurses and midwives from using non-pharmacologic labour pain relief strategies was the inappropriate design and layout of the delivery rooms which does not allow for privacy and family participation during the childbirth process. The process of labour is an intimate affair requiring the presence of supportive partners and family members without compromises on privacy [43,44]. The poor state and layout of delivery rooms not only affects utilisation of non-pharmacological interventions for pain management but also often secludes the expectant mother from her loved ones and alone in the hands of healthcare professionals during the delivery process.…”

A támogató környezet szerepe a szülési stressz kezelésében

“…Ezenkívül a saját fejlesztésű Szülési Intimitás és Privát Szféra Skála (Childbirth Intimacy and Privacy Scale -CIPS) két iteme segítségével rákérdeztünk [7], hogy a szülőnő mennyire érezte magát a szülőszobán biztonságban, illetve hogy az ott tartózkodó emberek milyen mértékben árasztottak nyugalmat és biztonságot. A kismamák mindkét esetben egy ötfokú Likert-skála segítsé-gével jelölhették válaszaikat, ahol "0" az "egyáltalán nem" választ, a "4" a "teljes mértékben" választ jelentette.…”

“…Szülés közben számos exogén, vagyis külső stresszforrással is találkozhatunk a felmerülő anyai és magzati komplikációkon túl: az anya emocionális állapotaira nem érzékeny szüléskísérői magatartás, a rideg fizikai környe-zet, a privát szféra hiánya, túl sok ember jelenléte a szü-lőszobán, az előkészítésként végrehajtott beöntés és borotválás, infúzió bekötése, vajúdás és kitolás során végig felszerelt magzati szívhangvizsgáló (CTG) eszköz, a gyakori vaginális vizsgálat, és természetesen minden egyes, a szülés természetes lefolyásába való külsődleges beavatkozás [7]. A beavatkozásokkal kapcsolatban meg kell jegyeznünk, hogy a baba és anya egészsége érdekében egyes beavatkozások természetesen elengedhetetlenek, de az indokolatlan használatuk felesleges stresszt és megküzdési kényszert jelent a szülőnő részére, aminek nem várt emocionális és visszacsatolások révén fiziológiai hatásai lehetnek magára a szülés lefolyására is.…”

Towards restorative spaces for postnatal recovery in urban tertiary hospitals

“…Maintaining privacy of a woman during labour and birth impacts on the experience of birth. Rados, Kovács and Mészáros (2015) assessed the role of privacy and intimacy and perceived stress due to lack of privacy during labour and birth. The researchers found a higher sense of privacy was associated with less stress for mothers and vice-versa.…”

“…Research shows that women in labour and birth desire many features in the birth rooms that may be contradictory such as privacy and having a window or a pleasant view of the outside. However, an inappropriate surrounding such as an open window can be perceived as a lack of privacy and could cause distress and discomfort for women in labour (Aburas et al, 2017;Rados et al, 2015). In this regard, optimising control of daylight for women can be a useful design consideration for women having lack of access to natural lighting or at a distance from windows in multiple-bed rooms.…”