Table 1. Findings on body image and psychological status after cesarean section (n=219).
| Sociodemographic characteristics | DRS Mean±SD |
BIS Mean±SD |
Test (df) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post-cesarean recovery period | ||||
| 0–6 months | 20.88±19.85 | 49.29±16.23 | t(217)=-2.15 | 0.033 |
 7 months |
27.80±20.33 | 54.98±17.70 | t(217)=-2.13 | 0.034 |
| Feelings about the appearance of the cesarean scar | ||||
| Not a problem for me | 16.55±16.81 a | 46.93±14.9 a | F(2,216)=15.48 | <0.001 |
| A problem for me | 37.56±20.58 b | 56.68±16.15 b | F(2,216)=11.47 | <0.001 |
| Feel very bad about it | 38.25±19.34 b | 60.90±20.38 b | ||
| Impact of cesarean scar appearance on body image | ||||
| Negatively affected | 37.82±18.63 | 60.27±18.01 | t(217)=8.94 | <0.001 |
| Affected | 15.40±16.38 | 46.14±14.11 | t(217)=6.31 | <0.001 |
| Impact of cesarean scar on social life | ||||
| Yes | 40.51±18.77 | 63.00±17.86 | t(217)=6.65 | <0.001 |
| No | 18.55±18.22 | 47.90±15.21 | t(217)=5.35 | <0.001 |
| Regret over the cesarean birth decision | ||||
| Yes | 44.91±15.30 | 59.05±19.26 | t(217)=4.65 | <0.001 |
| No | 14.56±15.02 | 47.61±14.65 | t(217)=2.06 | 0.040 |
| Body satisfaction after cesarean | ||||
| Satisfied | 15.74±16.79 a | 45.90±13.81 b | F(2,216)=16.07 | <0.001 |
| Not satisfied | 31.85±20.73 b | 57.90±19.95 a | F(2,216)=11.93 | <0.001 |
| Other | 24.20±20.40 b | 50.15±13.20 b | ||
| Perception of change in body image after cesarean | ||||
| Feeling less self-confident | 33.88±22.63 a | 66.40±19.87 a | F(3,215)=4.97 | 0.002 |
| Physical changes | 21.38±19.43 b | 48.76±16.46 b | F(3,215)=12.38 | <0.001 |
| Psychologically affected | 26.34±20.02 b | 53.26±15.35 b | ||
| No change experienced | 16.56±29.02 b | 44.75±9.24 b | ||
| Psychological difficulties due to bodily changes | ||||
| Yes | 35.29±19.96 | 60.36±19.71 | t(217)=5.42 | <0.001 |
| No | 16.68±17.39 | 46.19±13.01 | t(217)=6.63 | <0.001 |
| Desire to make changes regarding the body after cesarean | ||||
| Yes | 32.87±20.17 | 60.62±17.74 | t(217)=5.40 | <0.001 |
| No | 19.06±18.96 | 47.30±15.01 | t(217)=4.57 | <0.001 |
Note: DRS: Decision Regret Scale; BIS: Body Image Scale; SD: standard deviation. Values are presented as mean±SD. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were applied. Groups sharing the same superscript letter do not differ significantly (Bonferroni post-hoc test, p<0.05). Superscript letters “a” and “b” indicate statistically significant differences between groups; values sharing the same letter are not significantly different (p<0.05).