Relationship Between Perceptions of Intrapartum Care Process, Childbirth Experience Perception And Satisfaction With Nursing Care Among Parturients

Abstract

Intrapartum care process is crucial because it affects women during labor, both physically and mentally. Smooth and safe delivery increases maternal satisfaction. This descriptive research aimed to study the structure, process and outcomes of care during labor, and the relationship between perceptions of intrapartum care process and outcomes. The purposive sample of 359 postpartum women, who delivered at Pathumthani hospital from December 2015 through August 2016 were recruited. The instruments used for data collection were: 1) demographic information record; 2) “the Perception of Intrapartum Care Process” questionnaire, developed by the researchers; 3) “the Perception of Childbirth Experience” questionnaire, modified version adapted from Manee Junsopa et al. (2012); and 4) “Satisfaction with Nursing Care” scale. The content validity index (CVI) for “the Perception of Intrapartum Care Process” and “the Perception of Childbirth Experience” questionnaires were 1.00. Reliability for the questionnaires, tested by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, were 0.86 and 0.81, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman's correlation.               The study revealed that for the structure, the average age of nurses was 38.43 years old, with average years of experience in delivery unit was 15.14 years. Most of them (85.7%) hold a bachelor degree, 78.6% reported in good health. Structure of the parturient revealed average years of age was 25.70 years old, with the majority of them (64.3%) were between 20-34 years old, 61.6% had secondary education graduates, 50.7% were employed, 67.4% had previous childbirth experience, and 57.9% were not receiving childbirth classes before. For the process, the study found on average, parturients' perception of the intrapartum care process were at moderate level  ( =56.56, SD=15.42). For the outcomes, parturients perceived their childbirth experience as positive ( =75.35, SD = 10.42) and satisfied with nursing care at moderate level ( =6.86, SD = 2.10). The perceptions of intrapartum care process had significant positive correlated with childbirth experience perception and satisfaction with nursing care (p <0.001).            The findings from this study suggests that development of intrapartum care process for each phase of labor is needed to ensure positive childbirth experiences  and satisfaction with nursing care, especially to promote early bonding after childbirth. Providing information about newborn and caring guidelines, including proper pain management during labor can increase the quality of the childbirth services.