The role of religiosity in labour pain management among Orthodox Christian and Muslim women in Greece

Religiosity is increasingly recognised as a factor associated with psychological resilience; however, its specific role in the subjective appraisal of childbirth pain remains underexplored. Set within the sociocultural context of Greece, a predominantly Orthodox Christian country with a diverse Muslim minority, this cross-sectional study has a dual aim: to compare self-reported labour pain perceptions between Orthodox Christian and Muslim women, and to evaluate individual religiosity as an independent predictor of pain intensity. A convenience sample of 121 postpartum women assessed within 24–48 h of delivery was recruited, comprising 63 Orthodox Christian and 58 Muslim participants who had undergone spontaneous vaginal deliveries without the use of epidural analgesia.

Individual religiosity was measured using a scale based on the Sethi and Seligman model. Pain perception was evaluated using the Perception of Labour Pain Questionnaire, a multidimensional self-report rating scale. Data were analysed using group comparisons and linear regression models.

Muslim women reported lower overall pain scores compared to Orthodox Christian participants (p