Pregnant women's preferences and knowledge of term breech management, in an Australian setting.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To assess women's familiarity with breech presentation and external cephalic version (ECV), and to identify women's preferences and attitudes regarding breech management.

DESIGN:

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING:

King George V (KGV) Memorial Hospital for Mothers and Babies, Sydney, Australia, a major metropolitan teaching hospital.

POPULATION:

174 pregnant women (20-38 weeks gestation) attending KGV for antenatal care in 2001.

METHODS:

Data were obtained from a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed through the antenatal clinics.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Women's familiarity of breech presentation and ECV, women's attitude towards ECV, decision to attempt ECV, and with whom participants would like to make a decision regarding ECV.

FINDINGS:

Of the 174 respondents, 85% could correctly identify breech presentation, and 66% had heard of ECV. For 87% this information was from books, and family/friends, and not their midwife/doctor. Equal numbers of women responded that they would or would not choose ECV (39%), and the remaining 22% were uncertain. Factors influencing their decision included concerns about the safety for the baby, ECV not guaranteeing vaginal birth despite successful version, and ECV not being effective enough. Seventy-two per cent wanted to make the decision to attempt ECV together with their doctor.

CONCLUSION:

Although the majority of the women had a preference for vaginal birth, their knowledge of ECV appeared insufficient to enable them to make informed decisions about attempting ECV. These findings suggest that care-providers should offer women information on ECV, in a shared-decision-making environment.

• Authors: Camille H Raynes-Greenow, Christine L Roberts, Alexandra Barratt, Belinda Brodrick, Brian Peat
• Journal: Midwifery (Midwifery) Vol. 20 Issue 2 Pg. 181-7 (Jun 2004) ISSN: 0266-6138 [Print] Scotland
• PMID: 15177862 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Adult
• Breech Presentation
• Cesarean Section (psychology)
• Counseling
• Decision Making
• Female
• Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
• Humans
• Infant, Newborn
• Midwifery (standards)
• Mothers (education, psychology)
• New South Wales
• Nurse-Patient Relations
• Patient Acceptance of Health Care (psychology)
• Patient Participation
• Pregnancy
• Pregnancy Trimester, Third
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Time Factors
• Version, Fetal (nursing, psychology)