A survey on the knowledge and attitude of pregnant women to normal delivery in Babol, 1999

Objective: Lack of knowledge about side effects of cesarean, negative attitude to normal delivery and incorrect information about delivery complications encourage pregnant women to undergo cesarean section. By evaluation of the level of knowledge and attitude to normal delivery we can encourage pregnant women to have a normal delivery. Methods: This study was done on 250 pregnant women referred to four clinics and health centers in Babol during 6 months and questionnaires were completed about their personal characteristics, knowledge level and attitude. Their knowledge level and attitude were determined according to their scores. Findings: The knowledge level about normal delivery in 40.8%, 54.4% and 4.8% of pregnant women were low, average and high, respectively and their attitude to normal delivery in 48.8%, 31.6% and 19.6% were negative, indifferent and positive respectively. 61.6% of cases chose vaginal delivery. Pregnant women in this group had higher knowledge and lower negative attitude to vaginal delivery in comparison to those who chose cesarean section. There is a significant relationship between knowledge and attitude (P=0.000). The results showed that negative attitude in persons with low knowledge was more noticeable. Conclusion: According to this study pregnant women had low knowledge about the advantages of normal delivery. Only 19.6% of pregnant women had positive attitude to normal delivery. Since there is a significant relationship between knowledge and attitude, the correct programs can expand the limits of knowledge and positive attitudes to vaginal delivery