Development of a Japanese version of Salmon's Item List suitable for comparing satisfaction with childbirth experience between different modes of delivery

Abstract

Purpose Cesarean section birth rates in Japan increased to 19.7% by 2014. In Japan, there is no suitable scale for comparing the satisfaction of childbirth experience between vaginal deliveries and cesarean sections. This study aimed to develop a Japanese version of Salmon's Item List to compare different delivery modes. Method First, we pre-tested 22 women receiving a one-month postpartum check-up using a Japanese version of Salmon's Item List that had been translated per the process recommended by World Health Organization. Next, 401 women undergoing one-month postpartum check-ups at 5 different secondary emergency hospitals completed the translated questionnaire. SPSS Statistics ver. 23 was used for statistical analysis, and the significance level was set at 5%. Results There were 344 (68.8%) valid responses. Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was 0.849 and 0.654–0.90 for the three subscales, which were similar to the original version. Higher scores indicate more positive experi。