Friends and colleagues, I am happy to announce that The Birth Pleasure Study has received final approval from my academic advisors and the ethical review board at the California Institute of Integral Studies. I now have the green light to recruit participants for my dissertation study, and I cannot wait to get started on this project. Here’s who can participate:
- Age 18 and older
- Have experienced pleasure during labor or while giving birth
Please connect me with anyone you think would be a good fit for this study, or any one you think might be interested in helping get others involved. Feel free to email birthpleasure@gmail.com.
In gratitude,
Elisabeth
What is The Birth Pleasure Study?
As a doctoral candidate in Human Sexuality at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, California, I am conducting a study on the experience of pleasure in the process of labor and giving birth, and how it may affect health and sexuality. The purpose of the study is to collect information on how people have experienced pleasure in the process of labor and giving birth and how it has impacted them. I will look closely at the differences between how people have experienced birth pleasure.
What am I trying to find out?
I will interview participants and will ask questions about their experiences of the birth process, sexuality after birth, and how they think their experience of birth pleasure may have shaped their health after birth, mentally, emotionally, and physically. I am also interested in how participants think their experiences of birth pleasure may have affected their view of themselves as a person and a mother/parent, as well as their view of others and their place in society. Importantly, I will ask participants about the people in their lives and experiences they have had that have been influential in shaping the ways they think about birth. After the interview, I will ask the participants some questions from a set questionnaire about their racial and ethnic background, relationship status, sexual orientation, living situation, education, occupation, and income. A few months after the interviews, I will contact participants and ask them to take a survey on the topic of birth pleasure, and for their thoughts and opinions of the survey. The purpose is to test the design of the survey to improve it before it is launched on a larger scale, ultimately to learn more about pleasure in the birth process – like how common/uncommon and variable it is, and how it effects birth and postpartum wellbeing.
What will it involve?
It will involve completion of a recorded interview at a time convenient to you and the interviewer, a post-interview questionnaire, and an online survey at a later date. Interview will take place in the participant’s home. The interview has been designed to last approximately one-and-a-half hours, and no longer than two hours. During that time, participants will be invited to talk in a manner they find safe and comfortable concerning their personal experience and understanding of pleasure in birth. No preparation on their part is required for any part of the process.
For a randomly selected group of interview participants, I will be exploring their neighborhoods and taking notes on its characteristics such as how accessible it is, how many parks there are, the condition of sidewalks, and the number of grocery stores or other health resources. Participants are welcome to come along for this neighborhood walk, if desired, but it is not required.
Also, stay tuned for updates regarding a crowdfunding campaign for potential incentives to support low-income participants who want to participate.
