When my child was born: maternal reactions to the birth of a child.

A 32-item multiple choice test, "When My Child Was Born," was designed to measure maternal perceptions of their reactions at the time of their child's birth. A total of 200 mothers were administered the test. The population included 97 mothers of children with cleft lip/palate and 103 mothers of physically normal children. Factor analyses identified three factors: Maternal Positive Affect, Paternal Affect, and Parental Anxiety. On all factors, normal subject had the highest scores, and mothers of children with defects had the lowest scores. The findings suggest that the test measures both current and projected feelings of the mothers about the birth of their child.