Cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2 in Karnataka state, India

Background: Women’s birthing experience is a sensitive indicator of the quality of childbirth care and can impact the physical and mental health of both women and their neonates. Negligible evidence exists on Indian women’s birth experiences and–to the best of authors’ knowledge–no questionnaire has been tested in India for measuring women’s birthing experiences. This study aimed to test the construct validity and reliability of the Kannada-translated Revised Childbirth Experience Questionnaire. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among postnatal women (n = 251, up to six months postpartum, with a live healthy neonate) who had given birth at a public or private health facility using the Kannada-translated CEQ2 in two districts of Karnataka. Data were collected at participants’ homes after seeking written informed consent. Model fit was determined by Confirmatory Factor Analyses. Results: The 4-factor model of the CEQ2 showed good fit after deletion of one item (item 8, subcategory “participation”) with CMIN = 1.33; SRMR = 0.04; GFI = 0.92, CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.037 and p value 0.002). The Cronbach alpha values were acceptable for the four subscales (0.92, 0.93, 0.97, 0.91) as well as for the overall 21-item scale (0.84). Conclusions: The Kannada-translated CEQ2 is a reliable tool to measure the childbirth experiences among Kannada-speaking women and can serve as a reliable ongoing evaluation of women’s birth experiences.