title: Patients' satisfaction with and attitudes toward vaginal delivery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine patient satisfaction with delivery mode and whether information on urinary incontinence would modify their decision.
  
  
  METHODS
  Postpartum women completed an anonymous questionnaire regarding their delivery, complications, types of information received during pregnancy, and delivery and satisfaction with their mode of delivery. Various risk scenarios for urinary incontinence ranging from 10-50% were presented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred ninety-two ethnically and economically diverse patients responded: 86.4% reported receiving sufficient information on the risks of delivery, and 61.5% thought that cesarean section would not help prevent urinary/fecal incontinence. Irrespective of the magnitude of risk, few patients (5.7-21.9%) chose cesarean section to prevent urinary incontinence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients were happy with their delivery mode. Most thought that they obtained sufficient information on the various types of delivery available. They would not have chosen a cesarean section over a vaginal delivery even if the risks of urinary incontinence were much higher than currently reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63117, USA. mclennam@slucare1.sluh.edu
authors.forename: Mary T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: McLennan
authors.forename: Beverly
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alten
authors.forename: Clifford
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Melick
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoehn
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000523:psychology; D002755:Choice Behavior; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy