Birth planning — is it beneficial to pregnant women?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the experience of birth planning for pregnant women. Research in Australia and overseas has suggested that there are a number of conflicting issues with women's preparation and participation in child-birth. The researcher interviewed forty-two first time mothers in a variety of maternity settings around Victoria to ascertain the importance of birth planning in their approach to childbirth and the ways they went about making their plan and negotiating their needs with health professionals. The data from those interviews demonstrated that the means women used to negotiate their needs for childbirth with health professionals had little influence on their overall pregnancy and birth experience.