DOI: 10.5061/dryad.r7sqv9sb8
title: Use of intrapartum evidence-based practices in childbirth after participating in the Senses of Birth intervention among Brazilian women

description: Brazil has a cesarean rate of 56% and low use of Intrapartum
 Evidence-based Practices (IEBP) of 3.4%, reflecting a medically centered
 and highly interventionist maternal health care model. The Senses of Birth
 (SoB) is a health education intervention created to promote normal birth,
 use of EBP, and reduce unnecessary c-sections. This study aimed to
 understand the use of intrapartum EBP by Brazilian women who participated
 in the SoB intervention. 555 women answered the questionnaire between 2015
 and 2016. Bivariate analysis and ANOVA test were used to identify if
 social-demographic factors, childbirth information, and perceived
 knowledge were associated with the use of EBP. A qualitative analysis was
 performed to explore women's experiences. Research participants used
 the following EBP: birth plan (55.2%), companionship during childbirth
 (81.6%), midwife care (54.2%), freedom of mobility during labor (57.7%),
 choice of position during delivery (57.2%), and non-pharmacological pain
 relief methods (74.2%). Doula support was low (26.9%). Being a black woman
 was associated with not using a birth plan or having doula support. Women
 who gave birth in private hospitals were more likely not to use the EBP.
 Barriers to the use of EBP identified by women were an absence of
 individualized care, non-respect for their choices or provision of EBP by
 health care providers, inadequate structure and ambiance in hospitals to
 use EBP, and rigid protocols not centered on women’s needs. The SoB
 intervention was identified as a potential facilitator. Women who used EBP
 described a sense of control over their bodies and self-efficacy to
 advocate for their chosen practices. Women saw the strategies to overcome
 barriers as a path to become their childbirth protagonist. Health
 education is essential to increase the use of EBP; however, it should be
 implemented combined with changes in the maternal care system, promoting
 woman-centered and evidence-based models.
description: See Methods section in the manuscript.
 Eligible participants were identified at the Senses of Birth
 Intervention entrance when answering positive for the current pregnancy
 question and invited to join the study by one of the trained interviewers.
 All pregnant women over 18 years old who visit the intervention between
 March 2015 and March 2016 were invited to answer the post-intervention
 survey, forming a convenience sample of 1,287 women [32]. The group of
 respondent pregnant women was invited to join the online follow-up survey.
 Five hundred and fifty-five (555) women answered the follow-up post-partum
 survey between June 2015 and April 2016, with a response rate of 43.1%, in
 three different states and five different cities of Brazil (Belo
 Horizonte/MG; Rio de Janeiro/RJ and Niterói/RJ; Ceilândia/DF and
 Brasília/DF)
description: The original survey and data collection was conducted in
 Portuguese, since the study target Brazilian women. To improve access to
 the data, the data labels and data dictionary (readme file) were
 translated into English by the authors. The variables presented here are
 the minimum dataset needed to reproduce the quantitative analysis done in
 the referred manuscript.