Reactions of first-year medical students to their initial encounter with a cadaver in the dissecting room.

This study reports the results of a 1986 questionnaire survey of 100 first-year medical students regarding their preparation for and reactions to their first encounter with a human cadaver in the dissecting room. The students were aware of psychological and physical reactions to this experience, and although they felt adequately prepared prior to the class, expressed a desire for greater preparation afterwards, particularly through more discussion of the experience with the anatomy staff. A surprising number of the students (62) had had prior exposure to a dead human body, which was a significant influence upon their reactions. The results of this study suggest a need for improving both the preparation for coping with dissection and the follow-up opportunities for dealing with professional and emotional issues raised during human dissection.

Women's first experiences of childbirth: two hospital settings compared.

This study analyses expectations, experiences and the aftermath of childbirth from interviews conducted with 60 mothers nine months after their first child was born. Half had given birth in a 'family birthing centre' (FBC) and half had used the conventional delivery suite (CDS). Findings showed that the two groups of women had different antenatal orientations to the birth, different experiences of the labour, different experiences of motherhood and different levels of satisfaction with childbirth in retrospect. In particular, women using the FBC wanted to be and were more actively involved in the birth process than women from the CDS, experienced fewer medical interventions during labour and were more satisfied with childbirth afterwards than users of the CDS. FBC mothers reported more breast feeding than bottle feeding at nine months and a greater incidence of self-attributed 'depression'.