A prospective study of women's views of factors contributing to a positive birth experience.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the aspects of a woman's childbirth experience which she perceived as being important.

DESIGN

As part of a large randomised trial, which assessed the timing of intervention in prolonged labour, women's views were explored using a specifically-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire, which was administered on the second postnatal day, incorporated a rating scale followed by an open question. The responses to the open question are presented in this paper.

SETTING

Regional teaching hospital in the north west of England.

SAMPLE

615 primigravid women received a copy of the questionnaire. Of the 519 women who returned the questionnaire, 412 women answered the relevant section, the findings of which are presented in this paper.

ANALYSIS

The responses to the open-ended question were analysed by the generation of themes from the most frequently occurring responses.

MAIN FINDINGS

The main themes which emerged were support, information, intervention, decision making, control, pain relief and trial participation.

KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Most women are able to identify important contributors to a positive intrapartum experience. Midwives have an important role in identifying these contributors and supporting women to fulfil their individual needs.