Delivery route preferences of urban women of low socioeconomic status.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the main determinants of mode of delivery preference among urban dwelling women of lower socioeconomic status (SES).


METHODS
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.


RESULTS
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 (P<0.001), higher mean BMI (P=0.001), and cesarean as the most recent delivery type (P<0.001). The total explained variance by this model was 46%.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Kudish
Bela
B
Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington Hospital Center, Washington DC 20010-2975, USA. Bela.I.Kudish@medstar.net
Mehta
Shobha
S
Kruger
Michael
M
Russell
Evie
E
Sokol
Robert J
RJ
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D015406:Single Parent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012923:Social Class; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult