Decision Making About Method of Delivery on the U.S.-Mexico Border

Health Care Women Int. 2016;37(4):426-43. doi: 10.1080/07399332.2014.971951. Epub 2014 Dec 20.

Abstract

We explored how low-risk, nulliparous pregnant women and their doctors in two contiguous U.S.-Mexico border communities communicate about methods of delivery and how they perceive that the delivery method decision is made. We recruited 18 women through obstetricians in El Paso, Texas (n = 10), and prenatal care providers in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico (n = 8). We observed prenatal care visits, interviewed women prenatally and postpartum, and interviewed the El Paso obstetricians. Qualitative analysis demonstrated that birthing decisions are complex and involve multiple influences, including women's level of knowledge about birth, doctor-patient communication, and women's participation in decision making.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Decision Making*
  • Delivery, Obstetric / methods*
  • Female
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Mexico
  • Parity
  • Patient Participation*
  • Physician-Patient Relations*
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnant Women / ethnology
  • Pregnant Women / psychology*
  • Qualitative Research
  • Tape Recording
  • Texas