Woman's Experience of Childbirth: Qualitative Analysis from Data Derived from the 30-Item-Birth-Satisfaction-Scale

Background The 30-Item-Birth-Satisfaction-Scale (30-item-BSS) was developed to evaluate women's experiences of childbirth. Objective To thematically analyse the qualitative responses to questions comprising the 30-item BSS questionnaire, to identify whether the qualitative responses are in anyway harmonized with experiences reported within the quantitative portion of the 30-item-BSS. Study design The focus of our enquiry was the analysis of secondary data from (n = 115) completed 30-item-BSS questionnaires in which respondents provided textual comments to the quantitative questions in order to draw separate qualitative analysis of birth satisfaction. Line-by-line thematic coding was conducted to classify each written comment into a theme. Themes representing birth satisfaction were subsequently analysed using constant comparative analysis to differentiate birth satisfaction classifications that range from high to low, Exceptional, Good, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory. Participants The completed questionnaires (30-tem-BSS) from a convenience sample of postnatal women (< 10 days postpartum) who had delivered a healthy term infant. Findings The experiences for childbirth were ultimately classified as Exceptional for 4 women, Good for 39 women, Satisfactory for 55 women, and Unsatisfactory for 17 women. Key conclusions We found that qualitative data synchronized favorably with data from the quantitative aspect of the BSS. Implications for practice Two versions of the BSS are available: (1) The psychometrically valid and reliable 10-item-BSS from which scores can be correlated with other validated measures, and (2) The 30-item-BSS designed to assess individual women's experiences prior to in-depth qualitative work. Both scales are available from the second author.