| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺北護理學院 === 護理助產研究所 === 99 === The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of birth plans on women's childbirth control, anxiety, and the birth outcome. An experimental study design was used. Participants included primiparous women, under the care of a medical center in the central of Taiwan, and who had been pregnant for at least 34-36 weeks. They were also at least 18 years old, and had no pregnancy complications. An exclusion criterion was elective caesarian as a mode of delivery. A total of 148 women in hospital clinics who met the study criteria were allocated by randomization to experimental (n = 73) or control (n = 75) groups. The women completed their basic personal information and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory when they were recruited. All the participants completed the Labor Agentry Scale and State Anxiety Inventory within three days after birth. The experimental group had a statistically higher degree of childbirth control than that of the control group (t = 6.72, p < .001). There were no noticeable differences in mean values between the experimental and control groups in prenatal trait and state anxiety, but a significant difference (t = 5.91, p < .001) in the degree of state anxiety after delivery. No noticeable differences were found in the induction rate, epidural rate, episiotomy rate, and mode of delivery. There was no significant difference in the Apgar score for newborns during either the first minute or the fifth minute. Results suggest that birth plans during pregnancy may contribute to increase in childbirth control and reduce anxiety. This study also provided empirical data that may contribute to clinical intervention by nurses and midwives.
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