Translation and Cultural Validation of the Bengali version of Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2

Background: Childbirth experience refers to a woman’s subjective perception of labour and delivery, shaped by physical, psychological, interpersonal, and cultural factors. It plays a significant role in maternal wellbeing, mental health, and mother-infant bonding. Childbirth experience is linked not only clinical outcomes but also to emotional responses, fear and sense of control during labor and delivery. The aim of this study was to adapt the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2(CEQ2) into Bengali cultural context and to evaluate psychometric properties.

 Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among postnatal mothers (within 6-10 weeks after delivery) with live newborn who had delivered at tertiary hospital, Kolkata using Bengali-version Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2 using convenient sampling technique.

Results: Out of 245 participants, 230 (93.87% response rate) participated in this study. The Cronbach alpha value of Bengali Version Childbirth Experience Questionnaire2 was acceptable (0.91). Principal Component Analysis revealed that the factor Own Capacity explained maximum amount of variance (28.9). Women who delivered vaginally showed higher scores than women with operative birth.

Conclusion: The validated Bengali version of the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2 (CEQ2) appears to be valid and reliable; so, it can be used as a reliable and standardized tool to assess women’s childbirth experience in routine clinical settings