Little is known about how the decision for elective cesarean section comes about in the clinical environment. A prospective longitudinal study based on the Health Belief Model was conducted about first time mothers’ decision making processes and their health beliefs which led to their satisfaction with their decision about their mode of delivery. A convenience sample of 144 nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies and no medical indications requiring a cesarean delivery were recruited using internet based informational notices and with flyers. Women (n = 127) planning a vaginal delivery (VDMR) represented 88.2% of the sample and women (n = 17) requesting a cesarean delivery (CDMR) represented 11.8% of the sample. Data were collected during the third trimester and six weeks after the delivery using an internet-based questionnaire. Data were analyzed using t-tests and multiple linear regression to predict the effect of maternal health beliefs, maternal childbirth self efficacy, partner support, acceptance of the maternal role, and request group (VDMR vs. CDMR) on the dependent variables of maternal perception of the delivery and maternal satisfaction with her decision for the mode of delivery. Compared to women with VDMR, women with CDMR were significantly older, less educated, perceived more risk of emergent cesarean and less ability to deliver vaginally. Hypothesis testing indicated that the overall regression model did not significantly predict maternal perception of the delivery. The model accounted for a significant amount (15.1 %) of the variance in maternal satisfaction with the decision for mode of delivery. Acceptance of the maternal role and maternal request group significantly contributed to the model indicating that women with higher acceptance of the maternal role and women with CDMR had poorer satisfaction with their decision for the mode of delivery. The findings showed that factors influencing maternal perceptions of the delivery and satisfaction with the mode of delivery are different. Health beliefs had less relevance for perception of the delivery. It is possible that experiences that occur within the context of the delivery are more salient for maternal perception. Women with higher acceptance of the maternal role and who request a cesarean delivery are at risk for less satisfaction with their delivery decision and more decisional conflict and thus may need more support during decision-making processes and after delivery. Future research should examine the long-term impact of dissatisfaction with delivery decision on maternal outcomes.

Submitted by Noeme Timbo (noeme.timbo@metodista.br) on 2017-11-22T17:58:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula.pdf: 2163250 bytes, checksum: 9224d06f3a657c18defd407f483131cd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-22T17:58:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Paula.pdf: 2163250 bytes, checksum: 9224d06f3a657c18defd407f483131cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The obstetric reality in Brazil has been through significant changes over the past two years. Since 1970, the number of Cesarean sections has constantly increased in the country and worldwide. In 2014, in Brazil, it reached 52% of the deliveries, even though surgical births levels above 15% do not indicate protection for mother and baby, according to the WHO. The literature indicates that children born by Elective C-section without labor are at higher risk of biological development problems, but few studies address the consequences in the psychological aspects. The objective of this study was to compare the psychological development among babies born of elective C-section and normal delivery, considering the few data available in the literature. Considering the exclusion criteria, the sample consisted of 263 children aged between 6 and 42 months. The instruments used were: a sociodemographic questionnaire to be answered by the mother, and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development – 3rd Edition. For this study the scale was standardized and the sample data collected normalized using percentile calculation. These data were collected individually and statistically analyzed through the SPSS - Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 21. The results pointed out the delivery method and the gestational age at birth as risk factors for child’s psychological development. The correlations among those born by vaginal delivery or elective C-section showed a statistically significant difference (p <0.05). Among the latter, 12% presented inferior performance in relation to sensory processing, and 10 to 19% in adaptive behavior skills. The correlations with gestational age at birth, also revealed a statistically significant difference (p <0.05): 12% of the preterm infants presented lower results in the development of expressive language and 9% in fine motor skills. These results indicate that, in addition to the losses in physical development, widely described in the national and international literature, there is evidence of psychological impairment. Signs of compatibility and divergence between the US and local samples were observed. / A realidade obstétrica no país vem sofrendo alterações significativas nos últimos dois anos. Desde 1970 tem sido crescente o número de cesarianas no país e no mundo. Em 2014, o número de partos cirúrgicos no Brasil chegou a 52%, apesar de índices superiores a 15% de partos cirúrgicos não indicarem proteção à mãe e ao bebê, segundo a Organização Mundial de Saúde. A literatura aponta que crianças nascidas por cesárea eletiva sem trabalho de parto enfrentam maior risco de problemas em seu desenvolvimento orgânico, mas poucos estudos abordam as consequências nos aspectos psicológicos. O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar o desenvolvimento psicológico entre bebês nascidos de cesárea eletiva e de parto normal, uma vez que há poucos dados disponíveis na literatura. Considerando os critérios de exclusão, foi utilizada amostra composta por 263 crianças com idades entre 6 e 42 meses. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: questionário sociodemográfico respondido pela mãe da criança e a Bayley Scales of Infant Development – 3rd Edition. Foi realizada a padronização da escala e a normatização dos dados amostrais através do cálculo de percentil, para uso neste estudo. Estes dados foram coletados individualmente e analisados estatisticamente através do SPSS - Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 21. Os resultados apontaram a via de parto e a idade gestacional ao nascer como fatores de risco ao desenvolvimento psicológico da criança. Nas correlações realizadas entre os nascidos por parto vaginal ou cesárea eletiva, foi verificada diferença estatisticamente significativa (p<0,05). Dentre estes últimos, 12% apresentaram desempenho inferior em relação ao processamento sensorial, e 10 a 19% nas habilidades do comportamento adaptativo. Nas correlações com a idade gestacional ao nascer, também se observou diferença estatisticamente significativa (p<0,05): 12% dos nascidos a termo precoce apresentaram resultados inferiores no desenvolvimento da linguagem expressiva e 9% na motricidade fina. Estes resultados indicam que, além dos prejuízos no desenvolvimento físico, amplamente descrito pela literatura nacional e internacional, há indícios de comprometimento psicológico. Observaram-se indícios de compatibilidade e divergências entre as amostras norte-americana e local.