Determination of the psychological profile of pregnant women who wish to choose an alternative childbirth option

Abstract

One of the main indicators of the country's development is the health of women and children. Today in Ukraine, there is a significant decrease in the level of physical and moral health among young people, which negatively affects the course of pregnancy and childbirth. At the same time, the term “childbirth experience” is spreading in the obstetric community, which reflects the peculiarities of a woman's own feeling of the process of giving birth to a child, along with the spread of “non-traditional” methods of childbirth, such as vertical childbirth, childbirth in the knee-elbow position, childbirth in water, which aimed precisely at obtaining a positive birth experience. However, in the literature reviewed by us, we found only isolated information about the criteria for selecting patients to be involved in the attempt of alternative birth options.

Aim - determine the psychological profile of pregnant women who wish to choose an alternative option for childbirth.

Materials and methods. Surveyed 274 pregnant women at 11-12 and 36-37 weeks of pregnancy using a Google form containing 16 questions to determine the psycho-emotional state, mood, plans and fears about future childbirth.

Results. The obtained results at 11-12 weeks outlined the psychological profile of pregnant women as a state of pleasure combined with insufficient knowledge about the course of childbirth. The results of the questionnaire at 36-37 weeks show a change in the psychological state in the direction of the development of fatigue with a significant increase in the number of women who are worried about the course of the upcoming childbirth, the pain associated with it, and want to involve close relatives/husband or an outside helper in childbirth. The majority of women have been found to have fear and uncertainty about their own condition during and after childbirth, which is the basis for an in-depth study of the psycho-emotional sphere. It was found that significantly more women want to try an alternative method of childbirth - water birth - 122 (44.5%).

Conclusions. The psychological profile of pregnant women who wish to choose an alternative method of childbirth, including water birth, is characterized by a feeling of fear and anxiety before the upcoming birth, fears about the use of pharmacological methods of analgesia, as well as about possible aggression on the part of medical stuff.

No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.