Perceived Benefits of Epidural Anesthesia Among Primgravida and Multigravida Women During Labor: A Comparative Study

Background & Objective: Epidural anesthesia is regarded as the gold standard of labor analgesia due to its effective-ness in the reduction of pain and enhancement of maternal comfort and psychologically positive experience. Its benefits may be perceived differently by women based on parity, previous pre-childbirth experience and exposure to health information. The present study was conducted with aim to assess the perceived advantages of epidural anesthesia during labor and to compare the perceived advantages among the primigravida and multigravida women. Materials & Methods: This quantitative, descriptive, comparative, cross-sectional study was conducted on ۳۰۰ (۱۵۰ primigravida and ۱۵۰ multigravida) pregnant women visiting primary health care centers in the city of Al-Hilla, Iraq, between July and December ۲۰۲۵. A structured sociodemographic and obstetric questionnaire and a ۱۴-item perceived benefits scale with a five-point Likert scale were used to collect the data (Cronbachs α=۰.۸۶۴). The SPSS (version ۲۴) was used to analyze the data. Results: Multigravida women had significantly higher perceived benefit scores than primigravida women (۳.۶۸±۰.۶۳ vs. ۳.۴۳±۰.۷۲, respectively; P=۰.۰۱۱). Conclusion: Both groups had perceived benefits with higher perceived benefits among the multigravida women indicating that prior childbirth experience has a positive influence in the perceptions of women.

کلیدواژه ها:

analgesia ، Epidural ، Labor pain ، Patient satisfaction ، Gravidity