Patients were more consistent in randomized trial at prioritizing childbirth preferences using graphic-numeric than verbal formats.

Objective: We developed an evidence-based decision aid to help women with a prior cesarean to prioritize their childbirth preferences related to a future birth. Because there was uncertainty about which scale format would assist the patients in being most consistent in prioritizing preferences in a multiattribute decision model, we compared a graphic-numeric scale with a text-anchored scale.

Study Design And Setting: Ninety-six postnatal women with a prior cesarean were randomized to use 1 of 2 preference scale formats in a computerized childbirth decision aid.