Developing a woman-centered, inclusive definition of positive childbirth experiences : A discussion paper

Introduction A positive childbirth experience promotes women’s health, both during and beyond the perinatal period. Understanding what constitutes a positive childbirth experience is thus critical to providing high-quality maternity care. Currently, there is no clear, inclusive, woman-centered definition of a positive childbirth experience to guide practice, education, and research. Aim To formulate an inclusive woman-centered definition of a positive childbirth experience. Methods A six-step process was undertaken: (a) Key concepts associated with a positive childbirth were derived from a rapid literature review; (b) The key concepts were used by interdisciplinary experts in the author group to create a draft definition; (c) The draft definition was presented to clinicians and researchers during a European research meeting on perinatal mental health; (d) The authors integrated the expert feedback to refine the working definition; (e) A revised definition was shared with women from consumer groups in six countries to confirm its face validity; and (f) A final definition was formulated based on the women’s feedback (n = 42). Results The following definition was formulated: “A positive childbirth experience refers to a woman’s experience of interactions and events directly related to childbirth that made her feel supported, in control, safe, and respected; a positive childbirth can make women feel joy, confident, and/or accomplished and may have short and/or long-term positive impacts on a woman’s psychosocial well-being.” Conclusions This inclusive, woman-centered definition highlights the importance of provider interactions for facilitating a positive childbirth experience. Feeling supported and having a sense of control, safety, and respect are central tenets. This definition could help to identify and validate positive childbirth experience(s), and to inform practice, education, research, advocacy, and policy-making.CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)© 2022 The Authors. Birth published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.First published: 05 July 2022Correspondence Julia Leinweber, PhD, RM, Institute of Midwifery, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Oudenarder Strasse 16, 13347 Berlin, Germany. Email: julia.leinweber@charite.de