Table 2 Study characteristics of included studies
# | Author & Year | Country of study | Study design | Sample size | Participant characteristics | Quality rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Health related quality of life (n = 1) | ||||||
1 | Fobelets et al. (2019) [1] | Germany, Ireland, Italy | Prospective longitudinal (part of RCT called OPTIBIRTH [2]) | 862 | All women had previous C-section; 83% aged 31 or over; 97% married or cohabiting; 38% birthing in Germany, 15% birthing in 47% birthing in Italy. | Good (Score: 7/9) |
Psychological outcomes (n = 6) | ||||||
2 | Garthus-Niegel et al. (2014) [3] | Norway | Prospective cohort | 1700 | Age M = 31.2; 97.8% married or co-habiting; 47.2% first time mothers | Good (Score: 8/9) |
3 | Houston et al. (2015) [4] | USA | Prospective longitudinal | 160 | 67.5% aged over 30; 47.5% White; 26.3% Black; 33.1% nulliparous; 30.6% previous c-section | Good (Score: 8/9) |
4 | Philipson-Price (1982) [5] | Canada | Cohort | 30 | Age M = 27.5 | Medium (Score: 6/9) |
5 | Soet et al. (2003) [6] | USA | Prospective cohort | 103 | Mean age = 29.20 (SD = 4.99); 83% married; 67% white | Good (Score: 9/9) |
6 | Sluijs et al. (2020) [7] | The Netherlands | Prospective cohort | 463 | Most women (63.8–74%) aged between 26 and 35 years old; 98.2–98.3% of women married or cohabiting | Good (Score: 9/9) |
7 | Verreault et al. (2012) [8] | Canada | Prospective cohort | 308 | Age M = 32.21 (SD = 4.40); 97.1% married | Good (Score: 9/9) |
Psychological outcomes and birth satisfaction (n = 2) | ||||||
8 | Stein De Luca & Lobel (2014) [9] | USA | Prospective longitudinal | 164 | Age M = 30; 95% White; 97% married or cohabiting; 23% previously given birth | Good (Score: 8/9) |
9 | Tanglakmankhong (2010) [10] | Thailand | Prospective longitudinal | 195 | Age M = 25; 51.8% first time pregnancy | Good (Score: 8/9) |
Birth satisfaction (n = 2) | ||||||
10 | Mei et al. (2016) [11] | USA | Prospective cohort | 94 | NR | Poor (Score: 3/9) |
11 | Preis et al. (2019) [12] | Israel | Prospective longitudinal | 330 | Age M = 30, 98.5% Jewish, 95.2% married or cohabiting | Good (Score: 8/9) |