Women’s preferences and mode of delivery in public and private hospitals: a prospective cohort study

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

Research Article

Nora Viergue¹  Gustavo H. Izbizky²  Laura Gutierrez³  Luz Gibbons³  Ana María Bonotti⁴  José M. Belizán⁵  Fernando Althabe⁵  Agustina Mazzoni⁵  Silvia I. Vigil⁶  Marta Ferrary⁷  Gabriela Zalazar Denett⁸  Nancy H. Liu⁹ 

[1] Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas “Norberto Quirno” (CEMIC), Hospital Universitario Saavedra, Av. Galván 4102, 1431FWO, Buenos Aires, Argentina;Department of Obstetrics, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Juan D. Perón 4190, C1181ACH, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina;Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS), Dr. Emilio Ravignani 2024, C1414CPV, Buenos Aires, Argentina;Maternal and Child Health Program, Ministry of Health, 483 1/2 7th Avenue, 1900, La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina;Mother and Child’s Health Research Department, Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS), Dr. Emilio Ravignani 2024, C1414CPV, Buenos Aires, Argentina;Obstetrics Unit, Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires, Perdriel 74, C1280AEB, Buenos Aires, Argentina;Obstetrics Unit, Hospital Magdalena V. de Martínez, Avenida Constituyentes 395, General Pacheco, 1617, Tigre, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina;Obstetrics Unit, Hospital Materno Infantil Dr. Carlos Gianantonio, Diego Palma 505, San Isidro, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina;UCSF General Internal Medicine, Box 0856, 3333 California Street, 94118, San Francisco, CA, USA;

关键词: Caesarean section;    Childbirth;    Choice;    Obstetric;    Preference;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12884-016-0824-0

 received in 2015-06-03, accepted in 2016-02-04,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRates of caesarean section have steadily increased in most middle- and high-income countries over the last few decades without medical justification. Maternal request is one of the frequently cited non-medical factors contributing to this trend. The objectives of this study were to assess pregnant women’s preferences regarding mode of delivery and to compare actual caesarean section rates in the public and private sectors.MethodsA prospective cohort study was conducted in two public and three private hospitals in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 382 nulliparous pregnant women (183 from the private sector and 199 from the public sector) aged 18 to 35 years, with single pregnancies over 32 weeks of gestational age were enrolled during antenatal care visits between October 2010 and September 2011. We excluded women with pregnancies resulting from assisted fertility, women with known pre-existing major diseases or, with pregnancy complications, or with a medical indication of elective cesarean section. We used two different approaches to assess women’s preferences: a survey using a tailored questionnaire, and a discrete choice experiment.ResultsOnly 8 and 6 % of the healthy nulliparous women in the public and private sectors, respectively, expressed a preference for caesarean section. Fear of pain and safety were the most frequently expressed reasons for preferring caesarean section. When reasons for delivery mode were assessed by a discrete choice experiment, women placed the most emphasis on sex after childbirth. Of women who expressed their preference for vaginal delivery, 34 and 40 % ended their pregnancies by caesarean section in public and private hospitals, respectively.ConclusionsThe preference for caesarean section is low among healthy nulliparous women in Buenos Aires. The reasons why these women had a rate of more than 35 % caesarean sections are unlikely related to their preferences for mode of delivery.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Mazzoni et al. 2016