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

Abstract

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.