Journal article
Factors influencing obstetricians' intentions to facilitate normal physiological birth: a qualitative study
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, Vol.Advanced access(1)
09-Jun-2026
PMCID: PMC13474865
PMID: 42265648
Abstract
Introduction
Spontaneous vaginal birth is the preferred mode of birth for most women, however, increasing intervention has decreased rates, especially for nulliparous women. Obstetricians are identified as key stakeholders in intrapartum care, however very few studies have focused on the role obstetricians’ intentions, attitudes and behaviours may have on mode of physiological birth. The purpose of this study was to explore factors influencing the intentions of obstetricians to facilitate normal physiological birth.
Methods
This qualitative study was underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. All participants were obstetricians, registered and practising within Australia, and had experience providing care to birthing women who met the ‘selected primipara’ criteria. Semi structured interviews were conducted with eight obstetricians representing various models of care across most States and Territories of Australia. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results
Two key themes were identified from the data, with three sub-themes nested within each. Theme 1 identified the ‘Knowledge and beliefs’ influencing participants intentions to facilitate normal physiological birth, including ‘Definitions and nomenclature’, ‘Knowledge acquisition’, and ‘Communication and litigation’. Theme 2 identified ‘External influences’ impacting participants intentions to facilitate normal physiological birth and included ‘Colleagues’, ‘Structures – policy, resources and models of care’, and ‘Women and the Community’.
Conclusions
While obstetricians aimed to support the enabling of normal physiological birth, their intentions were influenced by many factors. Facilitating interdisciplinary interactions and education, embedding woman-centred care and promoting midwives’ autonomy and full scope of practice would further alleviate known barriers.
Details
- Title
- Factors influencing obstetricians' intentions to facilitate normal physiological birth: a qualitative study
- Authors
- Holly Meyer (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastNigel Lee - The University of QueenslandKendall George - Townsville HospitalLauren Kearney - Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
- Publication details
- BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, Vol.Advanced access(1)
- Publisher
- BioMed Central Ltd.
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12884-026-09247-2
- ISSN
- 1471-2393
- PMID
- 42265648; PMC13474865
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Midwifery
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991246280102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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