1. Delivery route preferences of urban women of low socioeconomic status
- Author
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Michael Kruger, Bela I. Kudish, Shobha H. Mehta, Robert J. Sokol, and Evie Russell
- Subjects
Adult ,Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Cross-sectional study ,Mothers ,Social class ,Article ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Pregnancy ,Environmental health ,Humans ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Socioeconomic status ,030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine ,Vaginal route ,Vaginal delivery ,business.industry ,Single parent ,Obstetrics and Gynecology ,General Medicine ,Delivery, Obstetric ,Single Parent ,Black or African American ,Parity ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Mode of delivery ,Social Class ,Unemployment ,Female ,business ,Urban environment - Abstract
To identify the main determinants of mode of delivery preference among urban dwelling women of lower socioeconomic status (SES).Over a 12-month period, a self-completion 36-item questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 308 women within the first 3 postpartum days. Non-parametric tests were used for analysis.Study participants were mostly African American (85%), single mothers (75%), and unemployed (≥55%). Among the women, 85.7% had vaginal delivery (VD) and 14.3% had cesarean delivery (CD). Women who preferred CD (10%) were more likely to be concerned about a vaginal tear/episiotomy during VD, forceps, and a "big" baby compared with women who preferred VD, for whom "pushing the baby out myself" and "fear of cesarean" were the most important factors. In the final model of 7 factors, the 3 main factors found to positively impact maternal preference for CD were a vaginal cut during VD (P0.001), higher mean BMI (P=0.001), and cesarean as the most recent delivery type (P0.001). The total explained variance by this model was 46%.Short-term complications of a VD, higher BMI, and a previous cesarean delivery are the most significant factors that impact the preferences of women of lower SES for future mode of delivery.
- Published
- 2010