A Measure of Satisfaction in Childbirth: The Degree of Women's Fulfillment of Childbearing Expectations

Abstract

The ·purpose of .this . study wa~ . to . operationalize the· coJ;icept of . . satisfactiqn (based on· Porter's model). as it pertained to the l~bor and . delivery experi~nce. - 'The goal was to develop and test a tool for measuring a wo1Jlan' s ·satisfaction with chil_dbirth. in terms. of the difference·· between ~hat was expected .and what· actually occurred.. Satisfaction was . defined as the deg-ree to which expectations were met. A convenience_sample of 50 women from a u.·s. Army hospital . . ' . . participated in this· study. Of .the saJJiple,_ 44%. (n = 22) were primigrav~das, . . and 56% (n. ~ 28) were multigravidas. A descriptive design· -w~s used for reliability a')ld valid~ty estimates~·. The results- of conte~t validity indicated that 4ll of . 'the· itens were consid~red relevant for a measure .· of satisfac-tion with the chilQ.birth experience. There .was 84% agreement ·by experts ob··· item ·(n =-.. :46) .placem~nt into appropriate .subscales . (self, physical care, ·sup_port). The reliability_ coefficient. (Cro11bach' s Alpha) for the Cooke Satisfaction· Scale was • 89. For each subscale, the : reliabilit:J;es (alpha)· were: self,_ .48;, physical care,· .74.;.-and support, .8·6. ·The correlation .for the Cooke Satisfaction Scale (Part A) and the· Marui: and· Mercer Attitude· Scale ·for. convergent construct validity was · .53. The· correlation for, the Cooke Satisfaction Scale (Part A - Par-t ·B) with the Marut and Mercer Scale· for divergent construct. validity· was .1s-.~ On the basi~ of reliability_ and validity coefficients. obtained, it. was concluded that the Cooke Satisfaction Sc·ale is a usefui tool for the · measurement .of ·satisfaction in childl;»earirig .. women.