Table 1 Description of Birth Companionship variables
Variable | Description |
|---|---|
Availability of a companion | Whether or not someone accompanied the woman from home to the health facility. In addition, we asked if this person stayed with them during labor, delivery, and/or after delivery. |
Type of companion | Relationship to the person who accompanied them to the facility. Women were allowed to mention more than one person, and thus, the preferred companion analysis is based on whether or not a particular type of person was mentioned. |
Allowed continuous support during labor | Whether or not they were allowed to have someone they wanted to stay with them during labor. A response of “yes, most of the time,” or “yes, all the time” is coded as being allowed continuous labor support, and “no, never” or “yes, a few times” is coded as not being allowed continuous labor support. |
Allowed continuous support during delivery | Whether they were allowed to have someone they wanted to stay with them during delivery. Recoded similarly to “allowed continuous support during labor” |
Desire for companionship during labor, delivery, and after delivery | Whether or not they wanted the person who accompanied them to stay with them during labor, delivery, and/or after delivery; and if they will want a companion at each stage if they were to have another baby in the future |
Preferred type of companion | The type of person they would want as a companion during labor, delivery, and/or after delivery if they were to have another baby. They could mention more than one person, so responses refer to whether or not they mentioned a particular type of person |