Individual and country-level variables associated with the medicalization of birth: Multilevel analyses of IMAgiNE EURO data from 15 countries in the WHO European region.

• To investigate potential associations between individual and country-level factors and medicalization of birth in 15 European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.Online anonymous survey of women who gave birth in 2020-2021. Multivariable multilevel logistic regression models estimating associations between indicators of medicalization (cesarean, instrumental vaginal birth [IVB], episiotomy, fundal pressure) and proxy variables related to care culture and contextual factors at the individual and country level.Among 27173 women, 24.4% (n=6650) had a cesarean and 8.8% (n=2380) an IVB. Among women with IVB, 41.9% (n=998) reported receiving fundal pressure. Among women with spontaneous vaginal births, 22.3% (n=4048) had an episiotomy. Less respectful care, as perceived by the women, was associated with higher levels of medicalization. For example, women who reported having a cesarean, IVB, or episiotomy reported not feeling treated with dignity more frequently than women who did not have those interventions (odds ratio [OR] 1.37; OR 1.61; OR 1.51, respectively; all: P<0.001). Country-level variables contributed to explaining some of the variance between countries.We recommend a greater emphasis in health policies on promotion of respectful and patient-centered care approaches to birth to enhance women's experiences of care, and the development of a European-level indicator to monitor medicalization of reproductive care.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Annan medicin och hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Other Medical and Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Reproduktionsmedicin och gynekologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Pregnancy

Female

Humans

Medicalization

Multilevel Analysis

Pandemics

COVID-19

epidemiology

European People

World Health Organization

COVID-19/epidemiology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)