Women’s labour experiences differ from expectations
Women may have ideal hopes of what they would like to happen with respect to pain relief, control and engagement in decision making, but expectations are often very different from experience. Antenatal educators need to ensure that pregnant women are appropriately prepared for what might actually happen to limit this expectation-experience gap and potentially support greater satisfaction with labour. – A pain-free and drug-free labour may be many expectant mothers’ dream but a review in the open access journal BMC Medicine reveals that reality hits hard. Most women’s labour experiences differ markedly from their expectations. They are often ill-prepared for what might happen and consequently may be disappointed when the birth does not “go to plan”.