Choosing the type of childbirth: assessment of women's protagonism

Abstract

The objective was to identify the types of births in a reference hospital, listing the decision process for that technique. It is a qualitative research, carried out with 76 immediate postpartum women, in a medium-sized municipality in the northwest of Paraná, in the months of April and May 2019. An objective questionnaire was used as a research instrument in order to collect sociodemographic information and about the choice of delivery. The data revealed that the vast majority performed the recommended number of prenatal visits. However, 64% were not informed about the particularities of each type of delivery by their doctors. Regarding the choice of mode of delivery in early pregnancy, 72% said they preferred normal delivery, but there was a decline in the number of pregnant women who actually performed natural delivery. It is concluded that despite the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation, levels higher than expected for cesarean sections have been performed.