Table 3 Descriptive data of the included instruments

The Childbirth Trauma Index for adolescents/CTI [22]

Anderson (2011)

USA

To determine specific indicators perceived by adolescents as influencing birth trauma.

Developed to aid nurses to assess and direct care to reduce the possibility of a trauma stress response or post-traumatic stress disorder among adolescents postpartum [22]. Further development, adaptation and evaluation of the psychometric properties of this tool would be valuable.

The Childbirth Experience Perception Scale/CEPS [26]

Bertucci et al. (2012)

Italy

To assess women’s perception of their childbirth experience.

A further development of ‘The childbirth perception questionnaire’ [73]. The original questionnaire was excluded from our review as the original paper does not present testing of psychometric properties. Bertucci et al. [26] are aware of this, but they consider the strengths of the questionnaire outweigh the limitations as it takes a broad view of various aspects into consideration when evaluating the childbirth perceptions. The psychometric properties need to to be further evaluated. The validity of the Childbirth experience perception scale was challenged in a letter to Midwifery journal, and the authors replied defending their position [83, 84].

The Childbirth experience questionnaire/CEQ [34]

Dencker et al. (2010).

Sweden

To assess different aspects of first-time women’s perception of their childbirth experience.

Developed to assess different aspects of mothers’ childbirth experiences in order to explore them comprehensively. Suggested \to be used to identify women with negative childbirth experiences and for evaluating quality of care. The development of the instrument is clearly described and primary results of several psychometric properties are presented [34]. The instrument has been validated in the UK [77] and used in research [85].

The survey of Bangladeshi women’s experiences of maternity services/SBWEMS [41]

Duff et al. (2001)

UK

To evaluate satisfaction with maternity care in Sylheti-speaking Bangladeshi women.

This cross-cultural instrument was made by cultural adaptation and translation of an existing measure. This paper can be used as a model and inspiration when developing instruments for use in minority ethnic communities [41].

The Birth Companion Support Questionnaire/BCSQ [42]

Dunne (2014)

Australia

To measure women’s perceptions of social support provided during labour by at least one lay birth companion.

Presents a first rigorous study of this instrument developed to be used in midwifery research [42].

The Perception of Birth Scale/POBS [23, 24]

Fawcett & Knauth (1996)

Marut & Mercer (1979)

USA

To measure women’s perceptions of their childbirth experiences.

This questionnaire was originally developed and adapted to measure the perception of women who had vaginal or unplanned caesarean births in 1975 [86] and further adapted by Marut and Marcer [24] in 1979. Attempts have been made to adapt and test psychometric properties [87, 88] before Fawcett and Knauth [23] in 1995 adapted the scale further and made an exploratory factor analysis. The scale needs further tests of its psychometric properties.

The Birth Memories and Recall Questionnaire/BirthMARQ [30]

Foley et al. (2014)

UK

To examine the relationship between memories of birth and postnatal mood and psychopathology.

Developed to measure characteristics of memories of childbirth and to examine the relationship between memories for birth and mental health including emotional and traumatic memories. With further testing of reliability and validity this questionnaire could become a useful tool both in research as well as in clinical practice [30].

The Support and Control in Birth Questionnaire/SCIB [25]

Ford et al. (2009)

UK

To measure support and control in birth.

Focuses on different dimensions of control during childbirth. With further testing of tis psychometric properties it can provide a valid and reliable measure to examine the relationships among support, control, and birth outcomes [25]. It has been culturally validated and translated into Turkish [78].

Women’s satisfaction with maternity care/WSMC [43]

Gerbaud et al. (2003)

France

To measure women’s satisfaction concerning maternity care.

This questionnaire is in French and measure women’s satisfaction with care during pregnancy, hospitalisation for birth, and homecoming. It is tested and developed to be used clinically and evaluated care [43].

The Scale for Measuring Maternal Satisfaction-normal birth/SMMS-normal birth [44]

Gungor & Beji (2012)

Turkey

To measure maternal satisfaction with birth in order to evaluate women’s experiences in labour and the early postpartum period before hospital discharge.

This is a scale developed in two versions, one for normal birth and one for caesarean birth. The scales are constructed to evaluate both the experience of care and the emotional experience of childbirth as a measure of satisfaction. The evaluation of initial psychometric properties are good and with further testing these scales can become a useful tool [44].

The Scale for Measuring Maternal Satisfaction- Caesarean birth/SMMS-caesarean birth [44]

Gungor & Beji (2012)

Turkey

To measure maternal satisfaction with birth in order to evaluate women’s experiences in labour and the early postpartum period before hospital discharge.

See above.

The Labor and Delivery Index/LADY-X [45]

Gärtner et al. (2015)

The Netherlands

A utility measure for economic evaluations in perinatal studies.

Developed to measure cost effectiveness of perinatal care interventions for use in research and is able to discriminate between groups [45]. The only instrument identified that measures economic evaluations in perinatal studies.

The Labour Agentry Scale/LAS [46]

Hodnett & Simmons-Tropea (1987)

Canada

An instrument measuring expectancies and experiences of personal control during childbirth.

Since this scale was developed in 1987 [46] it has been used in studies from a broad range of countries as well as in different types of studies [89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96]. Although widely used, further studies of the psychometric properties are recommended to ensure its validity and reliability.

The Birth Satisfaction Scale - Revised/BSS-R [27,28,29]

Hollins Martin & Fleming (2011) Hollins Martin et al. (2012)

Hollins Martin & Martin (2014)

UK

To measure postnatal women’s birth satisfaction.

The birth satisfaction scale – revised [28] is a further development of the Birth satisfaction scale [27, 29, 97]. The revised version of the scale is a more robust version. They have been used in research [97,98,99] and further cultural translation and validation has been made in Greece and the US [79, 80, 100].

The Early Labour Experience Questionnaire/ELEQ [47]

Janssen & Desmarais (2013)

USA

To measure women’s experiences with their early labour care.

Developed to measure women’s experience and evaluate care given in the latent and early phase of labour [47, 101]. Additional testing of psychometric properties would strengthen the questionnaire further.

The Labor and Delivery Satisfaction Index/LADSI [31]

Lomas et al. (1987)

Canada

To assess the caring aspects of childbirth care.

Developed for use in clinical trials [31] and has been used in several studies evaluating care given [102,103,104]. It was developed and evaluated in 1987. Therefore it would be appropriate to perform further testing and updating of its psychometric properties.

Women’s delivery experience measures/MFRM [32]

Mannarini et al. (2013)

Italy

To assess birth experiences after both spontaneous and medically assisted conception.

The statistical analysis was made by using the Rash model with the purpose of defining and validating a latent dimension for birth perception [32].

The maternal satisfaction scale for caesarean section/MSS-caesarean section [35]

Morgan et al. (1999)

Canada

To measure maternal satisfaction in women undergoing elective or non-emergent caesarean section under regional anaesthesia.

Developed by anaesthesiologists and two of the dimensions are measuring satisfaction with anaesthetics and side-effects. It has been properly tested for validity and reliability [35].

The Satisfaction with childbirth experience questionnaire/SWCBE [48]

Oweis (2009)

Jordan

No aim/purpose of the instrument documented.

Oweis [48] developed two scales in the same study to assess women’s childbirth experiences including expectations, satisfaction and self-control. These two scales need further evaluation of their psychometric properties.

Women’s Perception of Control during Childbirth/PCCB [48]

Oweis (2009)

Jordan

No aim/purpose of the instrument documented.

See above.

The Childbirth Schema Scale/CSS [33]

Peirce (1994)

US

To obtain an understanding of schema formation and revision with the known stressor of childbirth.

Developed to gain understanding of the underlying structure of known stressors of childbirth, by comparing the schemas before and after birth [33]. Further development and adaptation of the instrument would strengthen the psychometric properties.

Satisfaction with obstetrical care/SSO [49]

Ramanah (2014)

France

Canada

Senegal

To measure satisfaction in obstetrical care during labor, delivery and two hours postpartum relevant to the French-speaking context.

This instrument is tested in a French speaking context in Senegal, France and Canada [49]. Further development and evaluation of this instrument would strengthen the validity.

The Preterm Birth Experience and Satisfaction Scale/P-BESS [50]

Sawyer (2014)

UK

To assess parents (women and their partners) experiences and satisfaction with care during very preterm birth (<32 gestational weeks).

Further testing of psychometric properties in larger sample groups would be recommended as well as assessment of when the most suitable time after birth to administer the questionnaire would be [50].

The Responsivness in Perinatal and Obstetric Health Care Questionnaire/ReproQ [36, 37]

Scheerhagen et al. (2015)

van der Kooy et al. (2014).

The Netherlands

To evaluating maternal experiences of perinatal care services, using the eight-domain WHO concept.

This questionnaire is based on the eight-domain World Health Organization’s Responsiveness model. The questionnaire has an antepartum version assessing the experience during pregnancy and a postpartum version assessing women’s experiences during childbirth and postpartum care. It has been properly tested for a broad variety of psychometric properties [36, 37, 105]. It has been used to evaluate and compare care [106].

Women’s Satisfaction With Hospital-Based Intrapartum Care Scale [51]

Shaban (2014)

Jordan

To measure women’s satisfaction with intrapartum care in Jordan, especially to examine how low-risk, healthy laboring women experienced are during labor and birth.

Developed to provide information on women’s experiences with the aim of helping caregivers change practices. Further studies evaluating the psychometric properties would be the next step [51].

Patient Perception Score/PPS [52]

Siassakos et al. (2009)

UK

A simple tool to measure maternal satisfaction of operative abdominal and vaginal birth.

This is a short tool adapted from a Patient perception score used in simulation training of obstetric emergency situations and is easy to complete [107]. It aims to capture patient’s perception of operative birth with a focus on perceived communication, respect and safety. This is an easy tool that is suggested by the authors to be used on a regular basis in clinical settings to focus on women’s perceptions and improve care [52].

Pregnancy- and maternity-care patients’ experiences questionnaire./PreMaPEQ [38]

Sjetne (2015)

Norway

To measure women’s experiences of pregnancy and maternity care in Norway and other sites having similar health system.

Developed to collect women’s experiences of the maternity health care system in Norway. It has been well tested for a broad variety of psychometric properties and is an acceptable instrument for collecting women’s experiences of maternity care [38].

Women’s View of Birth Labour Satisfaction Questionnaire/WOMBLSQ [53]

Smith (2001)

UK

To measure maternal satisfaction with care quality of different models of labour care in the UK.

This questionnaire can be used to compare models or systems of labour and care during birth, giving an overall picture of care received. It would strengthen the reliability and validity if the instrument was further evaluated and adapted [53]. It has been culturally translated and adapted in several countries [108, 109] and used in studies [110].

The perceived Control in Childbirth Scale/PCCh [54]

Stevens (2012)

USA

To assess patient perceptions of control of the childbirth environment.

Development of two separate scales in the same paper. A goal of the study was to clarify the theoretical distinctions among similar constructs [54].

The Satisfaction with Childbirth Scale/SWCh [54]

Stevens (2012)

USA

To assess global satisfaction with the childbirth experience.

See above.

The Pregnancy and Childbirth Questionnaire/PCQ [55]

Truijens (2014a)

The Netherlands

To assess quality of care during pregnancy and delivery as perceived by women who recently gave birth.

Two scales, one referring to pregnancy and one referring to birth. Further research and evaluation of the psychometric properties would strengthen the validity and reliability [55]. It has been used in studies [111, 112].

The Childbirth Perception Scale/CPS [39]

Truijens (2014b)

The Netherlands

To assesses the perception of delivery and the first postpartum week.

Developed to compare women’s perception of home and hospital birth [39]. Psychometric properties have been adequate tested but further testing would strengthen validity and reliability.

The Scale of Women’s Perception for Supportive Care Given During Labor [56]

Uludag & Mete (2015).

Turkey

To determine women’s perception of supportive care given during labor.

Developed to see how women perceive care received from nurses to evaluate quality of care [56]. Further evaluation and adaptation of the psychometric properties would strengthen validity and reliability.

Delivery Fear Scale/DFS [57]

Wijma et al. (2002)

Sweden

To measure fear during the process of labor.

This is the only scale that we have identified that has been tested and evaluated for psychometric properties that are meant to be used during labour [80]. The scale has been used in research [113, 114].

The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire/W-DEQ [40]

Wijma et al. (1998)

Sweden

To measure fear of childbirth during pregnancy and after childbirth.

Consists of two versions; one to be used during pregnancy (version A) and one to be used after childbirth (version B) [40]. It has been used extensively [60,61,62,63,64,65,66] and cultural validation and translations have been made in several countries [67,68,69]. It is commonly used for measuring fear of childbirth, and it is properly developed with good psychometric properties.

The Parental Satisfaction and Quality Indicators of Perinatal Care Instrument/PPC [58, 59]

Wool, C. (2015a).

Wool, C. (2015b).

US

To measure parental satisfaction and quality indicators in parents electing to continue a pregnancy after learning of a life-limiting fetal diagnosis.

This is the only instrument we identified concerning this subject [58, 59]. Further evaluation of the psychometric properties would strengthen the validity and reliability.