THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERSONALITY TYPE WITH AN ATTITUDE TOWARD CHILDBIRTH AND THE CHOICE OF DELIVERY METHOD IN PREGNANT WOMEN

Introduction: Birth method selection is one of the most important choices of a woman's life. As a result, a study of the factors affecting this choice is essential. In recent years, the effect of different psychological factors on the attitude of childbirth has been considered. One of the most important of these factors is mother's personality traits. Based on the division of Friedman and Rosenman, people fall into two groups of personality types A and B, each with specific characteristics. So this research aimed to determine the relationship between personality type with attitude to childbirth and the choice of delivery method. Method: This prospective cohort study was performed in 2016 on three hundred and twenty pregnant women referring to selected health care centers of Ahvaz that were selected through simple non-randomly sampling. The data collection tools were “demographic information”, “Friedman & Rosenman personality trait” and “Attitude to the choice of delivery method”. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, independent t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient statistical tests, and considering significance level p<0.05. Results: The average score of attitude to birth method selection in persons with type 'A' were 158.77 and with the type 'B' was 159.37. The most selected birth methods in type A [%88.0] and type B [%87.1] personality groups were normal delivered. There was no statistically significant relationship between personality type with attitude to childbirth [p=0.45] and birth method selection [p=0.81]. Conclusion: There was no significant relationship between personality type with attitude to childbirth and choice of delivery method. However, definitive conclusions in this field require more studies. Key words: Birth method selection, personality type, attitude to childbirth