Attitudes of Primary Pregnant Women Toward Preference of Birth Method in Dezful, Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Choosing the birth method is a major issue for pregnant women that is affected by multifaceted physiological, psychological and socio-cultural factors. Aim(s): The aim research was performed to explore factors influencing pregnant women’s attitude toward birth method. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study on 220 healthy nulliparous pregnant women with uncomplicated pregnancies without any contraindication for vaginal birth in Medical Centers of Dezful, in the south west of Iran. Data collection tool was a questionnaire for factors affecting the choice of delivery method. Differences in attitude were compared between two groups of natural vaginal delivery preference and cesarean delivery preference. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS Version 16.0 statistic software package. Descriptive statistics were used to report percentages, mean, and standard deviation, and t-test, chi-square were applied to analyze the data. Results: During the study period, 206 primary pregnant women were examined to determine the attitudinal influencing factors the birth method preference. 131 women (64%) chose the natural delivery method and 71 women (36%) chose the cesarean delivery method. In addition, the results showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding the general attitude of the participants towards natural delivery (164.43 in the normal vaginal delivery (NVD) group versus 134.50 in the cesarean section (CS) group (p < 0.001)). Conclusion: There is a direct relationship between the attitude of pregnant women towards vaginal birth and the tendency to normal vaginal delivery and cesarean section. Also, according to the results of the study of 8 components of attitudes, counseling sessions and prenatal training sessions can be identified based on counseling needs and be guided counseling sessions more purposefully.