The effect of motivational interviewing on attitude and practice about type of delivery in primigravid women requesting elective cesarean section referring to comprehensive health services centers

Negative attitudes toward vaginal delivery are an important reason for pregnant women to undergo a cesarean section. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the effect of motivational interviewing on attitude and choice of primigravida women on type of delivery in requesting elective cesarean section.

In this single‑blind clinical trial, 120 primigravida women in 28–31 weeks of gestation with normal pregnancy determined by a multistage sampling were randomly chosen from ten health centers of Zahedan city in 2019 and were divided into two groups. Motivational interviewing was performed in four sessions within 90 min in the experimental group, and the control group received routine care service. Attitude (before and 1 month after the intervention) and performance (after delivery) were evaluated using a valid and reliable researcher‑made questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using different proportions, paired t‑test, independent t‑test, covariance analysis, and Shapiro–Wilk and the Chi‑square methods.

There was a significant difference in the attitude of participants between the two groups after the intervention (P = 0.001). The mean difference of pre‑ and posttest was significant in relation to attitude scores in the two groups (P = 0.001), and the difference between the two groups was also statistically significant between the two groups in terms of delivery type (P = 0.03).

We conclude that motivational interviewing can be a useful tool to change the attitude and decrease the rate of unnecessary cesarean among pregnant women. It is recommended to examine the impact of this method on women from different societies who have various educational backgrounds and cultures.