An Exploratory Study of the Role of Birth Stories in Shaping Expectations for Childbirth among Nulliparous Black Women: Everybody is Different (but I'm Scared).

Introduction: Birth stories area source of information and vicarious experience for nulliparous women. Although health disparities research suggests that the childbirth experiences of Black women differ from those of white women, little research has been conducted about the nature of birth stories shared and their subsequent effect on expectations.

Methods: Pregnant nulliparous Black women were recruited from a women's health practice in the southeastern United States.

"After having a waterbirth, I feel like it's the only way people should deliver babies": The decision making process of women who plan a waterbirth.

To explore the decision making process of women who seek to give birth in water DESIGN: A qualitative design using semi-structured interviews with women who planned a waterbirth was used. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded for emergent themes using a grounded theory approach for analyses SETTING: Twenty-three women (mean age = 33.5 years mean number of children = 2.