Introduction: Labour is a natural process which is one of the most important events in a woman's life. Women's feelings about their birth experiences and birth satisfaction have in the last few years been recognized as important starting points for evaluation and research in the field of midwifery and obstetrics. Purpose: The aim of my thesis is to list and present factors related to birth satisfaction and based on the obtained results determine the birth satisfaction in Slovenia. Methods: A descriptive and quantitative method of work is used. The first part includes theoretical starting points presented on the basis of scientific literature. The second (empirical) part determines the birth satisfaction in Slovenia using the Birth Satisfaction Scale (BSS) with added questions. Results: A sample of 359 women is used. It also includes 137 mothers who gave birth during the covid-19 epidemic. The average result of the BSS questionnaire is 107,36 (SD = 11,03). For 71 % of childbearing women, this was their first birth. 99,2 % of childbearing women chose a maternity hospital as their place of birth. 177 childbearing women (49,3 %) received a pharmacological pain relief in labour. Most childbearing women gave birth vaginally (n = 299; 83,3 %), while 13,4 % of childbearing women gave birth by a caesarean section (n = 48). In the case of birth injuries, 32,3 % of childbearing women had a ruptured perineum (n = 116) and 22 % had an episiotomy (n = 79). Based on the results we have come to the following conclusions. Multigravidas express a higher level of birth satisfaction compared to women for whom this was their first birth (primigravidas). Women with an emergency caesarean section express the lowest level of birth satisfaction. There is a negative statistical correlation between women's birth satisfaction and episiotomy. The results show that there were no statistically significant differences in birth satisfaction of women during the covid-19 epidemic and others, however, women who gave birth in the presence of their partners express higher satisfaction compared to those who did not have their partners present. Discussion and conclusion: We found that women's birth satisfaction is very important, for the women and her newborn and the whole family. Considering the many listed factors related to women’s birth satisfaction, we are aware that this is a very complex concept. The main factors in connection to birth satisfaction include the method of birth, the place of birth, the presence of a partner at birth, communication and the attitude of the medical staff. In the future, additional research on the topic of women's birth satisfaction should be done in Slovenia.
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