Consistency of Delivery Mode Increases Chinese Mothers’ Maternal Satisfaction: The Effect of Perception of Support from Medical Staff and Mothers’ Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Maternal satisfaction is essential for women. Extant research has focused on how a practical delivery method effects maternal satisfaction. This article tried to explore the effect of the consistency of delivery mode between mothers’ expectations and their experience of maternal satisfaction and proposed the mediating effect of the perception of support from medical staff and the moderated mediation effect of maternal self-efficacy. Based on two studies, this article found that the consistency of the delivery mode has a positive effect on maternal satisfaction, and women’s perception of support from medical staff mediated the above relationship. The maternal perception of self-efficacy has a moderated mediation effect; specifically, for women with a high level of self-efficacy, the positive effect of the consistency of the delivery mode on maternal satisfaction through perception support from medical staff is stronger. This article highlights the importance of the consistency of the delivery mode between women’s expectations and the experience of maternal satisfaction and the psychological mechanisms involved. The results extend the theoretical research on ethics in childbirth and provide implications for improving women’s maternal satisfaction from medical staff and themselves.