What is underneath the cesarean request?

Fear of childbirth (FOC): pregnant women's perceptions towards the impending hospital birth and coping resources - a reconstructive study

Background: To provide obstetric care which meets the needs of pregnant women with fear of childbirth (FOC), a deeper understanding is required of the beliefs of these women regarding their impending birth and the coping resources they possess to cope with their fear.Methods: Problem-centred interviews were carried out with 12 pregnant women who self-reported high FOC. Data analysis was performed using Bohnsack's Documentary Method to reconstruct collective frames of orientation and implicit and explicit orientations in daily practice and interaction.Results: The interviewees see birth as a field of tension between the poles of naturalness and medicalization. Their need for information displays a need to be in control and fear of losing control. Medical and technological monitoring and one-to-one care promote security. Pregnant women with FOC want to know how they can contribute to a physiological birth.Conclusions: Structural, organizational and conceptual changes in obstetric care are needed to cater to the needs of pregnant women with FOC. Alongside the need for evidence-based information about non-medical and medical pain-relief as well as decision-making aids, the provision of a continuity model of midwifery care is important.

Maternal reasons for requesting planned cesarean section in Norway: a qualitative study

Background

Pregnant women who request a cesarean section in the absence of obstetric indication have become a highly debated issue in academic as well as popular literature. In order to find adequate, targeted treatment and preventive strategies, we need a better understanding of this phenomenon. The aim of this study is to provide a qualitative exploration of maternal requests for a planned cesarean section in Norway, in the absence of obstetric indications.

Methods

A descriptive qualitative study was conducted consisting of 17 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with women requesting cesarean section and six focus group discussions with 20 caregivers (nine midwives, 11 obstetricians) working at a university hospital in Norway. Data were analyzed with Systematic Text Condensation, a method for thematic cross-case analysis.

Results

Fear of birth emerged most commonly as a result of a previous traumatic birth experience that prompted a preference for a planned cesarean to avoid a repetition of the trauma. For some women in our study, postnatal care and the puerperal period were their crucial past experiences, and giving birth by planned cesarean was seen as a way to ensure mental rather than physical capability to care for the expected child after birth. Others were under the impression of being at high risk for an emergency C-section, and requesting a planned one was based on their perceived risk. Such perceptions included having a narrow pelvis, hereditary factors or previous birth outcomes. Some primiparas requested a planned cesarean based on a deep-seated fear since their early teens, accompanied by alienation towards the idea of giving birth. Some obstetricians participating in our study also experienced requests that lacked what they regarded as any well-grounded reason or significant fear.

Conclusions

Behind a maternal request for a planned cesarean section are various rationales and life experiences needing carefully targeted attention and health care. Previous births are an important driver; thus, maternally requested cesareans should be regarded partly as an iatrogenic problem.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-019-2250-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Complementary medicine for laboring women: a qualitative study of the effects of reflexology

Background

Despite pharmacological interventions, labor pain and anxiety still remain a challenge, and can carry long-term psychological complications. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of reflexology on these symptoms and to explore the physical and psychological components of women’s experience associated with this treatment.

Methods

This qualitative study was conducted in an Israeli university hospital that offers integrative medicine services. Reflexology was offered to laboring women in the hospital, by the medical staff. In-depth, open interviews were conducted with 36 women, still in hospital, who consented to be interviewed, within 48 h after delivery. Questions referred to their labor experience with reflexology treatment.

Results

Of the 36 participants, 34 (94%) described a positive and empowering experience. They reported reduced pain and anxiety, and an increased sense of self-efficacy brought about by the ability to become active and manage labor.

Conclusions

Using reflexology as one of the complementary medicine treatment available can contribute greatly to the entire labor experience as it empowers women and increases self-confidence and ability to self-manage labor and delivery.

Support for pregnant women identified with fear of childbirth (FOC)/tokophobia - A systematic review of approaches and interventions

BACKGROUND

providing appropriate care for pregnant women with high or severe fear of childbirth (FOC) is a challenge in midwifery care today. FOC is associated with predisposing anamnestic factors, various sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics, and may result in serious healthrelated consequences. It is therefore important to establish which interventions may increase a woman's faith in her own ability to cope with labour and birth.

AIM

to systematically identify and review studies examining interventions for relief of severe fear of childbirth in pregnancy and their underlying conceptual foundation.

METHODS

a systematic literature search was performed following Cochrane Collaboration and PRISMA Statement recommendations. Inclusion criteria were: studies including pregnant women diagnosed with high or severe FOC or who requested a caesarean section due to severe FOC, studies (regardless of design) observing the effect of an intervention addressing FOC, and studies published in English. Publications addressing anxiety or stress were excluded. 377 references were screened by title and abstract. The risk of bias was assessed.

FINDINGS

19 articles referring to 15 research projects were included in the analysis. The studies show heterogeneity regarding assessment methods, type, conceptualisation and application of interventions. There is evidence that both cognitive therapy sessions and a theory-based group psychoeducation with relaxation are effective interventions.

KEY CONCLUSIONS

despite methodological limitations, single or group psychoeducation sessions for nulliparous women or therapeutic conversation during pregnancy (in group or individual sessions) have the potential to strengthen women's self-efficacy and decrease the number of caesarean sections due to FOC. The theoretical validation of an intervention deepens the understanding of psychological processes in women coping with severe FOC.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

theory-based concepts of care for both antenatal and intrapartum support of pregnant women with high or severe FOC should be developed, piloted, tested, evaluated and implemented within the given healthcare system. Midwives need to be competent to address pregnant women's fears regarding labour and birth in antenatal care. The use of a valid assessment tool to identify the level of FOC in women, even if they do not raise the issue, is recommended in routine antenatal care so that appropriate expert support can be offered. A one-on-one conversation may be feasible for those women unwilling to fill in a questionnaire. Cooperative local networks between midwives, psychologists and obstetricians qualified in psychotherapy should be established to ensure timely and effective care for women with high or severe FOC.

Cesarean section by maternal request

Cesarean section by maternal request is the one performed on a pregnant woman without medical indication and without contraindication to vaginal delivery. There is great controversy over requested cesarean section. Potential risks include complications in subsequent pregnancies, such as uterine rupture, placenta previa and accreta. Potential benefits of requested cesareans include a lower risk of postpartum hemorrhage in the first cesarean and fewer surgical complications compared with vaginal delivery. Cesarean section by request should never be performed before 39 weeks. RESUMO A cesariana a pedido materno é aquela realizada em uma gestante sem indicações médicas e sem contraindicação para tentativa do parto vaginal. Existe grande controvérsia sobre a realização da cesariana a pedido. Riscos potenciais da cesariana a pedido incluem complicações em gravidezes subsequentes, tais como: rotura uterina, placenta prévia e acretismo. Potenciais benefícios da cesariana a pedido englobam um menor risco de hemorragia pós-parto na primeira cesariana e menos complicações cirúrgicas quando comparada ao parto vaginal. A cesariana a pedido jamais deve ser realizada antes de 39 semanas.

Pelvic floor dysfunction after vaginal and cesarean delivery among singleton primiparas

OBJECTIVE

To compare the prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms, including pelvic organ prolapse (POP), urinary incontinence (UI), and fecal incontinence (FI) among primiparous women after vaginal and cesarean delivery.

METHODS

In a prospective cohort study at a University hospital in the Czech Republic, singleton primiparas with cephalic presentation who delivered at term were enrolled between 2002 and 2007. In 2013, 5-10 years after delivery, women who had not delivered again completed an internet-based survey about current symptoms of POP, UI, and FI, which were evaluated using validated questionnaires. The relative risk (RR) of POP, UI, and FI symptoms was calculated.

RESULTS

Complete questionnaire data were obtained from 641 women who delivered vaginally and 224 who delivered by cesarean. The mean UI score (ICIQ-SF) was 2.3 ± 3.6 in the vaginal group and 1.0 ± 2.7 in the cesarean group (P=0.005). The mean POP scores (POPDI-6) were 2.2 ± 2.3 and 2.1 ± 2.0, respectively (P=0.944). The mean Wexner scores to evaluate FI were 1.3 ± 1.7 and 1.0 ± 1.5, respectively (P=0.220). The RR of pelvic floor dysfunction after vaginal delivery was highest for women with UI symptoms (RR 1.15, 95% confidence interval 0.92-1.42).

CONCLUSION

Significant differences in the occurrence of symptoms of UI were observed after vaginal delivery as compared with cesarean delivery. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02661867.