The relationship between personality traits and labor pain intensity and type of delivery among multiparous and nulliparous women

Abstract

Aim

The Personality traits of pregnant women and their husbands is related to their attitudes towards labor and the type of delivery. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between Personality traits and labor characteristics (pain intensity, and type of delivery) among multiparous and nulliparous women.

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 210 multiparous and nulliparous women, selected via convenience sampling, who were 37–42 weeks pregnant and have referred to Shiraz hospitals for delivery. Data collection tools were a personal and midwifery information questionnaire, Goldberg’s big-five personality scale, and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain that were completed through interviews. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive tests to describe the data and Pearson correlation test to analyze them.

Results

Most women (190, 90.5%) had normal delivery and (129, 61.4%) experienced the highest pain level (VAS = 10). There was no significant relationship between Personality traitss and pain intensity variable. There was a significant positive relationship between extraversion and type of delivery (p = 0.036). Other Personality traits had no significant relationship with the type of delivery.

Conclusion

Personality traits have not been studied in terms of pregnancy and birth outcomes compared to other health outcomes. Such research can help professionals and physicians design and target programs that best fit the demographic characteristics they may need, such as those with high extroversion.