The main focus of the thesis is placed on the birth experience of women in relation to the hospital personnel attitude and the birth environment. The quality of the maternity care is often assessed by the low mortality rate of infants and mothers, whereas the experience of women who gave birth are often overlooked. This thesis is centered exclusively on the subjective experience of mothers who gave birth.
In the theoretical part, the medicalization of pregnancy and birth is covered. Several routine procedures performed on women who are admitted to a maternity hospital are introduced accompanied by the descriptions of symbolic and cultural messages they convey. Later on, the model of humanized childbirth is examined.
The empirical part is based on the narratives of five women and nine childbirth stories in total. In this part of the thesis, the women’s perception of childbirth and preparation before the first childbirth is presented. This includes their experience during the childbirth and their evaluation of hospital personnel and the birth environment. The research shows that a well-prepared childbirth preparation correlates to a higher degree of satisfaction with the birth experience. The birth experience is also improved if the woman giving birth is already familiar with the hospital personnel; if she preselected the personnel; and is treated sympathetically by the personnel that respects her wishes.
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