Memories of Labor and Birth: Reliability of Post Partum Questionnaire Reports

Abstract

The stability of reports of feelings during vaginal births was assessed in three studies. In Study I, post partum reports from 475 primiparous women who participated in a childbirth preparation program were compared to identify differences between reports completed from the day of the birth to more than six weeks after the birth. In Study II, the post partum reports of 46 primiparous and 95 multiparous women completed 1, 3, or 6 mo. after giving birth were compared. In Study III, test-retest reliabilities were calculated for post partum reports completed by 22 primiparous and 16 multiparous women during the 5th and 7th post partum weeks. In these studies, reports of pain during labor were stable.