Best laid plans...pre and postpartum comparison of self and spouse concepts in primiparous Lamaze couples who share delivery and those who do not.

The present study investigated pre and postpartum attitudes toward self, spouse, and ideal of 47 primiparous couples who chose the psychoprophylactic (Lamaze) method of childbirth, 34 who were able to share the delivery as planned (y/y), and 13 who were blocked from doing so due to complications necessitating cesarean sections (y/n). Osgood Semantic Differential ratings revealed that both y/n men and women perceived self and various ideal concepts lower pre and postnatally than did y/y subjects. Both groups of women showed statistically significant increases pre-post in activity for several concepts, with y/n women also showing increases in potency for the ideal woman. The y/n husbands showed no statistically significant pre-post gains, while the y/y husbands widened a statistically significant gain pre-post on the activity dimension for self. Implications for nursing practice and for further research are discussed.