Women’s subjective perceptions and background factors associated with poor maternal childbirth experience among induced and spontaneous onset of labour: a two-year tertiary hospital cohort study

Abstract Background Women undergoing induction of labour (IOL) more often have poor childbirth experience compared to women with spontaneous onset of labour (SOL). For understanding and optimizing childbirth experience in IOL, we investigated the subjective maternal reasons and perceptions leading to poor childbirth experience in IOL compared to SOL, as well as the background factors and delivery outcomes associated with the poor experience. Methods Two-year retrospective cohort study included 836/19442 deliveries (4.3%) with poor childbirth experience in induced or spontaneous onset at term in Helsinki University Hospital. Poor childbirth experience occurred in 389/5290 (7.4%) cases of IOL and in 447/14152 (3.2%) of SOL. Childbirth experience was measured after delivery using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, with poor experience defined as VAS