Effect, for the Preferred Mode of Delivery, on Pregnant Women and Their Husbands of a Preparing Program on the Advantages of Vaginal Delivery

Background Despite evidence indicating the effective role of husbands in family planning programs, their role in decision making about the mode of delivery has been ignored. Objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of implementing a preparing program for pregnant women who prefer cesarean section and their husbands, on their preferred mode of delivery. Methods In this before-after clinical trial, 101 pregnant women and their husbands, referred to Sabzevar health clinics affiliated to Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, were selected. The inclusion criteria were having a singleton pregnancy and women’s preference to giving birth by cesarean section. Women who had to give birth by caesarean due to having a previous caesarean or whose husbands were reluctant to participate in the study, were excluded. In a visit to the health clinics, a midwife discussed benefits of vaginal delivery for mother and baby, risks of caesarean, and cases in which caesareans are lifesaving. Outcomes were husband’s opinion about the mode of delivery and woman’s decision about the mode of delivery, both after the intervention and one month later. Data analyses were performed using SPSS version 18. Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was used to compare husbands’ opinions about the mode of delivery before and after the intervention. Results About 60% of women were primiparas. Just after the intervention and one month later, 66.3% and 72.3% of women preferred vaginal delivery, respectively. About 58% and 72% of husbands preferred vaginal delivery before and after the intervention, respectively. Wilcoxon test showed that there was no significant difference in choice of vaginal delivery by husbands before and after the intervention (P = 0.147). Conclusions A preparing program for couples can influence women’s preferred mode of delivery. Future research should compare such a program for couples and for pregnant women alone.