Preparing for childbirth: women's look

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Childbirth preparation is a form of health intervention education per-formed by specialist nurses in maternal health and obstetrics aimed at promoting self-efficacy during labour. In planning an efficient childbirth education intervention, it is essential that nurses know the pregnant women's/couple's expectations on this specific issue. Objectives: To understand the pregnant women's expectations related to preparation for childbirth. Material and Methods: This was an exploratory, transversal study of qualitative nature where data was collected through interviews, after an informed consent was signed. The Bardin technique was applied to data analysis. A non-probability sample of 224 pregnant women was made, all over 20 years of age, with 28 weeks or more of gestation. The majority of participants possessed an advanced degree, were married or living in a marital situation, and were experiencing their first pregnancy. Results: From an analysis of the interviews, three categories emerged knowledge, ability, and self-efficacy to deal with labour, and seven subcategories. These results corroborate findings of other researchers who have concluded that couples wish to be informed regarding how to prepare for labour, and that this preparation is relevant when the acquired knowledge helps the pregnant woman or couple make decisions and exercise control over their labour experience. Conclusion: The results enabled nurse-midwives to increase their knowledge and understanding of pregnant women's labour preparation expectations and preferences. Knowledge of this variety can assist these professionals in planning effective, quality interventions, which in turn can clearly contribute to gains in health

RESUMEN

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