Translation and validation of the French version of the ObsQoR-10 questionnaire for the evaluation of recovery after delivery: the ObsQoR-10-French

BACKGROUND: The Obstetric Quality of Recovery-10 (ObsQoR-10) is a validated tool for assessing the quality of postpartum recovery. This study aimed to validate the French version of the ObsQoR-10 scale (ObsQoR-10-French). METHODS: After translating the ObsQoR-10 into French, we conducted a psychometric validation involving internal consistency, convergent validity, construct validity, reliability, responsiveness, scaling properties, acceptability, and feasibility. French women who underwent either a vaginal delivery (spontaneous or induced labour), or an emergency or elective Caesarean section (C-section) were prospectively included. They completed the ObsQoR-10-French before delivery and at 24 h (H24) and 48 h (H48) after delivery. RESULTS: Of the 500 women included, 431 (86%) completed the questionnaire at all three timepoints. A total of 352 women (82%) underwent vaginal delivery (with 228 [53%] experiencing spontaneous labour and 124 [29%] had labour induced), whereas 53 (12%) women underwent an emergency C-section and 26 (6%) an elective C-section. The ObsQoR-10-French demonstrated excellent internal consistency with a Cronbach's coefficient of 0.81, 95% confidence interval 0.78–0.84 at H24. The tool was correlated with an 11-item global health score (P<0.001). Of the list of hypotheses for evaluating the construct validity, 81% were confirmed (negative associations between ObsQoR-10-French and length of labour, hospital stay, the need for a C-section, and the emergency level of the C-section). The Cohen effect size at H24 was 0.58. The intra-class coefficient was 0.90, 95% confidence interval 0.86–0.93 at H24. CONCLUSION: The ObsQoR-10-French is a valid and reliable psychometric questionnaire, capable of assessing the quality of postpartum recovery in French-speaking populations. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04489602.