MATERNAL MOTIVES BEHIND ELECTIVE CESAREAN SECTIONS
| Author(s) | Reyes, Emmaline | |
| Date Accessioned | 2018-10-04T14:57:12Z | |
| Date Available | 2018-10-04T14:57:12Z | |
| Publication Date | 2018-05 | |
| Abstract | The WHO recommends a target cesarean section rate of 10-15% of all births. In recent years, the US has a rate of 30.3% and some other developed countries are even higher. Scholars have argued that as a result of the complicated and relatively risky way humans give birth, humans benefit from assistants providing both logistical and emotional support (Rosenberg and Trevathan, 2002). My hypothesis is that women who are more likely to elect cesarean section for non-medical reasons do so at least in part because of unallayed fears and anxieties. My study investigates women’s birth preferences and attitudes towards birth. My sample was young, American women who have not previously given birth but who may in the near future (N = 368). Those who reported a preference for cesarean section were more likely to be extremely fearful of birth (43.9%) than those who reported a preference for vaginal delivery (20.6%). 73.2% of the cesarean section group state that fear is what influenced their birth preference, 9.8% said their fear had no influence, while in the vaginal birth group 18.9% said fear influenced their birth preference and 53.7% said it did not. In my sample, women likely to elect cesarean sections in the absence of medical necessity are motivated at least in part by fear. They report more extreme fear than the group anticipating non-surgical delivery; it is more likely that fear influences their birth decision. This study provides a better understanding as to why women actively elect cesarean sections and offers productive low-tech and inexpensive ways to address their fears. | en_US |
| Advisor | Karen Rosenberg | |
| Program | Anthropology | |
| URL | http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/23871 | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | en_US |
| Keywords | Anthropology, Cesarean sections, maternal motives | en_US |
| Title | MATERNAL MOTIVES BEHIND ELECTIVE CESAREAN SECTIONS | en_US |
| Type | Thesis | en_US |