Birth education and the effect of birth plan given with education on birth self-sufficiency

Aim: This research was conducted to determine the effect of childbirth education and birth plans applied with the education that were administered to pregnant women on childbirth self-efficacy. Methods: The research was carried out at seven Family Health Centers in Malatya as a control-group pretest-posttest experimental design. The pregnant women constituting the sample were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 was given only childbirth education, group 2 was given childbirth education and was subjected to a birth plan, and group 3 was the control group. Based on a power analysis, the sample size was calculated as 51 pregnant women for each group. The data were collected between April and September 2017 using the Personal Information Form and the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory (CBSEI). Descriptive statistical methods, chi-square tests, one-way analyses of variance, and dependent and independent samples t-tests were used in statistical analyses of the data. Results: It was determined that the childbirth self-efficacy level of the group that was given only childbirth education was higher than the control group, and there was a statistically significant difference between the groups (p<0.05). It was determined that childbirth self-efficacy levels of the pregnant women who were subjected to a birth plan together with childbirth education were similar to those of the control group after the intervention (p>0.05). It was also determined that the childbirth self-efficacy levels of the group, which received only childbirth education, and the group, which was subjected to a birth plan together with childbirth education were similar after the intervention (p>0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that the childbirth self-efficacy levels of the pregnant women who received only childbirth education were higher than those in the control group and those who were subjected to a birth plan together with childbirth education. Keywords: Pregnancy, childbirth education, birth plan, self-efficacy, midwifery