Being in the zone during physiological birth: a comparative study of hospital and home birth environments.
Frontiers in global women's health January 1, 2025 Orli Dahan, Alon Goldberg 4 citations
During physiological childbirth, women who give birth at home report a significantly higher flow state—a sense of empowerment and fulfillment when challenge matches ability—compared to women who give birth in hospitals. This finding, based on 421 Israeli women who experienced physiological labor, shows that the home birth environment is correlated with heightened flow across several dimensions: challenge-skill balance, action-awareness merging, clear goals, unambiguous feedback, concentration, and joy. The birthing environment appears to crucially affect the mental state of women during labor, contributing a novel perspective to discussions on optimizing the childbirth experience.