Table 3.

Obstetric Physicians’ Motives, Beliefs, and Barriers to Recommending Nonpharmacologic Therapies for Pain Management After Childbirth

Theme	Response*†
Question 7: How motivated are physicians to recommend these nonpharmacologic therapies?
Open-minded	6 (23)
Would consider using if there is evidence	5 (19)
If patient wants	1 (4)
Depends on culture and beliefs of physicians	1 (4)
Not open or motivated (imagery and mindfulness would not be useful)	3 (12)
Question 8: What do you think about recommending low levels of physical activity in the days after birth for managing pain?
Recommend	18 (69)
Good idea	17 (65)
Depends on pain level	1 (4)
Would not recommend	5 (19)
Did not answer the question appropriately	3 (12)
Question 9: Are there barriers to recommending nonpharmacologic strategies?
Barriers for physicians	25 (96)
Lack of time	9 (35)
Lack of evidence	7 (27)
Unaware of existing evidence	5 (19)
Unaware of how to implement	2 (8)
Unwillingness to change	2 (8)
Lack of knowledge	2 (8)
Need more staff to recommend	1 (4)
Barriers for patients	7 (28)
May take away from responsibilities (eg, childcare)	3 (12)
Lack of patient openness	2 (8)
New mothers have no time or patience to use	1 (4)
Might be too much information for patient	1 (4)

Data are n (%).

^*Participants may have provided responses to more than one theme so some frequency totals may exceed the number of physicians that were interviewed.

^†Twenty-six physicians offered additional feedback for questions 7–9.