Women 'misled about pain and distress of childbirth'

Pregnant women are being misled about the experience of giving birth by antenatal teachers who paint a rosy view of childbirth and play down the pain and distress, according to a survey.

Seven out of 10 women said labour was "more painful than they ever imagined" and eight out of 10 said they were frightened. More than half said they were unprepared because antenatal classes were "not honest about the birth experience".

The survey of 3,000 women, who answered a questionnaire in Mother and Baby magazine, found half of them said the experience of birth was "far more shocking than they thought".

Almost a quarter had had a Caesarean and 96 per cent gave birth in hospital with a variety of technical assistance including forceps, suction and epidurals. Only 6 per cent reported having a "completely natural birth".

Dani Zur, editor of the magazine, said: "Though some antenatal teachers might be concerned about giving too much information about the birth and scaring mums-to-be, our survey shows that it's actually harmful in the long run.

"Pregnant women need to be prepared for the reality of childbirth so they can make informed decisions about issues like birth positions and pain relief. This will make them feel more in control over their birth and will lessen the feelings of shock and fear they experience."

Nine out of 10 of the women said they suffered pain for an average of 24 days after the birth, with one third complaining of "considerable" pain. But four out of 10 said they were not told what was happening during labour and birth and were not allowed to move around during labour and take up the positions they wanted.

The survey was criticised yesterday for being unrepresentative. But the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) said the large size of the sample meant the findings could not be ignored.

Mary Newburn, head of NCT policy and research, said: "It is a sorry state of affairs if over half the women felt antenatal classes were not right for them. But it is tricky to get the right balance. Do you pitch it for those who will face more difficult births, or do you go for somewhere in the middle?"

A survey carried out by the NCT two years ago found that although almost half of women reported that the birth had been a distressing experience, a larger proportion said it had been very special.

The lesson of that survey was that pain alone was not an adequate indicator of the quality of the experience and that other factors, such as how well the woman was treated and whether she was kept informed, played an important part.

Ms Newburn said: "I am not surprised by these findings, but I am saddened that women in these classes are not being told what they need to get the experience right. However, if you focus on the potential difficulties, those who have an easy birth may say, 'What a rotten lot – they were scaremongering – it wasn't bad at all'."

The NCT had now changed its policy and focused its efforts more on changing the system than imparting skills to individual women, she said.

"One of the issues we have discussed is how we should talk about Caesareans. One approach is to say if there are six women in the room, it is likely one or perhaps two will have a Caesarean and explain what that means. But another approach is to ask why the Caesarean rate is so high and advise women what to do if one is proposed for them."