Table 2.

Component loadings for items on the Memories for Birth Questionnaire (BirthMARQ)

BirthMARQ components (% variance)	Component loading	h 2	Cronbach's alpha a
Emotional Memory (12.94)			0.81
My emotions at the time were extremely positive*	0.85	0.74
My emotions at the time were extremely negative	0.81	0.68
I experienced mixed positive and negative emotions at the time	0.72	0.54
While recalling the birth now, my emotions are extremely positive*	0.69	0.58
While recalling the birth now, I am experiencing mixed positive and negative emotions	0.66	0.47
Reliving (10.98)			0.80
While remembering the birth now, I relive visual impressions I had during the birth	0.80	0.68
While remembering the birth now, I relive the bodily sensations I had during the birth	0.74	0.63
While remembering the birth now, I feel as though I am reliving it and it is happening now, not in the past	0.73	0.63
While remembering the birth now, I relive the sound(s) I heard during the birth	0.71	0.68
Centrality of memory (10.83)			0.80
The experience of birth has coloured the way I think and feel about other experiences	0.82	0.72
The experience of birth has become central to the way I understand myself and the world	0.77	0.68
The experience of birth was a turning point in my life	0.74	0.65
I often think about the effects the experience of birth will have on my future	0.59	0.58
Sensory Memory (10.47)			0.74
As I recall the birth, I can remember smells	0.82	0.71
As I recall the birth, I can remember tastes	0.77	0.63
As I recall the birth, I can remember sounds	0.65	0.51
As I recall the birth, I can remember touch	0.61	0.47
Recall (9.88)			0.84
My memory for the birth (or parts of the memory) comes to me 'out of the blue' without me trying to think about it	0.84	0.78
Things that happen now can unexpectedly bring up memories of the birth (or parts of memories)	0.77	0.74
Since the birth, I have thought about itb	0.74	0.64
Coherence (9.00)			0.84
My memory for the birth comes to me as a logical, coherent series of events with no major gaps	0.87	0.81
My memory for the birth is fragmented, i.e. it comes in bits and pieces with bits missing*	0.85	0.75
The images in my memory for the birth come to me like a continuous film or video recordingb	0.60	0.46

*Indicates the item should be reverse scored.

^aCronbach's alpha values presented here are for only those items included in the final subscale score calculations.

^bAlthough this item loaded strongly with the others in this component, subsequent Cronbach's alpha analyses indicated the subscale internal consistency would be improved if the item were deleted. Subscale scores were calculated based on the remaining items.