The sample consisted of 20 women of primiparas and 17 women of multiparas. They underwent normal labor and delivered a healthy baby at term. The data had been collected through the unstructured interviews conducted 1-2 days after delivery in the admission room from March 1998 to March 1999. On average, the interviews lasted for about 30 minutes. Interviews were taken with the consent of the subjects.

The data are categorized according to the similarities of their contents. Seventeen subordinate categories and six superordinate categories have been identified.

Six superordinate categories are : 1) physical nursing needs 2) nursing needs of medical behavior 3) emotional nursing needs 4) informational and teaching nursing needs 5) nursing needs of pain control 6) nursing needs of respect(personality).

Seventeen subordinate categories include: comfortable posture, touch, professional knowledge and techniques, duty execution, support, company and talk, stable surroundings, reassurance, information on delivery, explanation of medical behavior, information on surroundings, instruction on the case of pain, arbitrary adjustment, artificial adjustment, respect, interest and reflection of opinions.

The result of this research is the same as that of foreign research and the items of the questionnaire in Korea are the same as the foreign one. Despite the same result, however, this dissertation is significant in that the research identifies the parturients nursing needs and classified the data and thus the basis has been formed to develop the tools to assess the nursing needs of the Korean parturients.

The findings can be used as the guide for nursing intervention of parturients.