Comparison of Turkish and Syrian women in terms of traumatic birth perception and birth beliefs

Aim: This study aimed to compare Turkish and Syrian women in terms of traumatic birth perception and birth beliefs. Material and method: This descriptive and comparative study was conducted in central Family Health and Migrant Health centers in a province in eastern Turkey between December 2024 and June 2025. The sample of the study consisted of 460 women, 230 of Turkish origin and 230 of Syrian origin, aged 15-49. Data were obtained through the Personal Introduction Form, Traumatic Birth Perception Scale (TBPS) and Birth Beliefs Scale (BBS). In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, percentage, frequency) were used, as well as t-tests for comparisons between groups. Results: It was determined that the mean score of TSAS was 63.70±29.44 in Turkish women and 56.20±23.24 in Syrian women, and the difference between the mean scores was statistically significant (p<0.05). The mean score of the DSAS natural process belief sub-dimension was 4.36±0.73 in Turkish women and 4.45±0.55 in Syrian women, while the mean score of the medical process belief sub-dimension was 3.59±0.68 and 3.04±0.58, respectively. While there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups for the natural process belief sub-dimension (p>0.05), there was a statistically significant difference in terms of medical process belief (p<0.000). Conclusion: It was determined that the level of traumatic birth perception and the mean score of medical process belief were significantly higher in Turkish women than in Syrian women. No difference was found between the groups in terms of natural process belief. Keywords: Midwife, Natural process belief, Birth beliefs, Syrian origin, Medical process belief, Traumatic birth perception, Turkish origin