Perception and Preference Towards Normal Vaginal Delivery and Caesarean- Section Among Primigravid Women

Abstract

The present study was conducted on the perception and preference regarding expected vaginal delivery and cesarean section among primigravid women. The objectives of the study were to identify the perception of primigravid women regarding expected vaginal delivery, identify the perception of primigravid women regarding cesarean section, determine the preferred mode of delivery among primigravid women and identify the association between the perception of primigravid women regarding expected vaginal delivery and the selected personal variables and to identify the association between perception of primigravid women regarding cesarean section and the selected personal variables. A non-experimental approach with a descriptive survey design was used. The data were collected from 185 subjects attending the antenatal outpatient department of Baby Memorial Hospital, Kozhikode, at the time of data collection. The subjects were selected using a non-probability purposive sampling technique. The tools used were a perception rating scale to identify the perception of primigravid women regarding expected vaginal delivery, a perception rating scale to identify the perception of primigravid women regarding cesarean section, and a semi-structured questionnaire to identify the preference of primigravid women regarding the mode of delivery. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data findings, revealing that most of the subjects (86.3%) had neutral perceptions regarding expected vaginal delivery. Women’s perception of standard vaginal delivery is significantly associated with religion, occupation, and monthly family income, but there is no significant association between any of these variables and cesarean section perception.