Childbirth is one of the most common reasons for accessing healthcare, yet the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its subsequent restrictions on the birth satisfaction of women remains substantially unclear. Psychological flexibility has been associated with a variety of positive outcomes, however, research focusing on its possible role in the birth experience is limited. This study investigates whether birth satisfaction differs between women whose birth expectations and preferences changed because of COVID-19, reasons other than COVID-19, or did not change at all. Alongside this, the relationship between psychological flexibility and birth satisfaction was investigated in both women whose birth expectations and preferences did and did not change. The most commonly reported aspects of birth expectations and preferences that were subject to change were also explored. 119 first-time mothers who gave birth between September 1st 2019 and September 30th 2020 completed a questionnaire enquiring about changes to birth expectations and preferences and measuring birth satisfaction and psychological flexibility. Significant differences in birth satisfaction were found between women whose birth expectations and preferences changed because of COVID-19, reasons other than COVID-19, or did not change. Specifically, women whose birth expectations and preferences did not change demonstrated increased birth satisfaction compared to both other groups of women. Psychological flexibility was found to predict birth satisfaction in women whose birth expectations and preferences had been subject to change but not in those whose were not subject change. The pandemic appears to be no more detrimental to women’s birth satisfaction than other common changes women can face when planning and giving birth. Furthermore, interventions aimed at increasing psychological flexibility could be beneficial for women whose birth expectations and preferences may be subject to change. Additional findings and practical implications for emphasising the importance of women’s birth experiences are discussed.
PLEASE NOTE: You must be a member of the University of Lincoln to be able to view this dissertation. Please log in here.