Intrapartum analgesia as a condition of human satisfaction at hospital

Abstract

The study investigates parturients’ satisfaction with intrapartum analgesia. It aims to assess their opinions about hospital and health staff involved in delivery, besides investigating emotional control, locus control and bond between mothers and their newborn infants. A multidimensional approach has been used to investigate the variable of woman as a person, the variable of context and the variable of bond with the newborn infant. The study was conducted according to a quasi-experimental design, with a control group.

The study was performed within the Analgesia and Intensive Care Operational Unit of the Maternal-Infant Department of the P. Giaccone University General Hospital of Palermo. It involved 60 women subdivided into two groups of 30 women each, the experimental group (women who requested intrapartum analgesia) called the A group, and the control group (women who refused it) called the B group.

The following tools were administered: the STAI-Y (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, form Y) scale; the Depression Questionnaire of CBA (Cognitive Behavioural Assessment) scale; the Locus of Control questionnaire; and an interview designed for the purpose.

The experimental A group women exhibited lower levels of state anxiety and depression post-partum than those of the control B group; moreover, the women in the A group exhibited higher levels of external locus of control and evaluated delivery more positively than those of the B group. There were no significant differences with regard to the relationship with their newborn infants.

The study shows that intrapartum analgesia provides hospitals with the possibility to satisfy women’s needs for safety and well-being.