Maternal anxiety and feelings of control during labour: A study of Chinese first-time pregnant women

OBJECTIVE: to explore and examine the relationship between maternal anxiety levels and feelings of control during labour among Hong Kong Chinese first-time pregnant women. DESIGN: an exploratory descriptive correlation design. Data were collected on three occasions: during latent phase of labour, during active phase of labour and within 24–48 hrs after delivery. SETTING: an obstetric unit of a public teaching hospital in Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS: a convenience sample of 90 Hong Kong Chinese first-time mothers. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: the Labour Agentry Scale (LAS) is a self-report scale designed to measure feelings of control during childbirth. A Visual Analogue Scale for anxiety (VAS-A) was used to measure women's self-reported level of anxiety during labour. Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient test indicated a significant negative relationship between the feelings of control and maternal anxiety during labour. No statistical relationships were detected between women's attendance at antenatal classes and feelings of control during labour. KEY CONCLUSIONS: the study showed a significant negative relationship between maternal anxiety and feelings of control during labour. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: midwives should work with women to enhance their personal control during labour and satisfaction with their birth. The insignificant relationship between attendance at antenatal classes and feelings of control suggests the need to evaluate the content of childbirth education in order to empower women's control during labour.