Abstract: Objective To explore the cognition and demand of labor analgesia in pregnant women. Methods Pregnant women undergoing prenatal examinations in various hospitals in Xi’an were selected as the research objects. From April to July 2021, the convenience sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey on the cognition and demand of labor analgesia among pregnant women who underwent a prenatal examination in the obstetric clinics of 5 hospitals （3 tertiary hospitals and 2 secondary hospitals） in Xi’an. The descriptive analysis method was used to analyze the willingness of labor analgesia and related influencing factors. Results A total of 675 pregnant women were included in this study, and 351 pregnant women expressed little understanding of labor analgesia, accounting for 52.00%. The proportion of pregnant women who learned about labor analgesia through relatives and friends was the highest, with 388 people, accounting for 57.48%. 116 pregnant women believed that labor analgesia was painless, accounting for 17.19%. The main effects that pregnant women hope to achieve by using labor analgesia were to reduce the pain of waiting （85.63%） and delivery （73.78%）. The family members of 629 pregnant women were willing to use labor analgesia, accounting for 93.19%. Pregnant women wanted to obtain knowledge about labor analgesia in terms of sequelae and risks （61.78%） and methods of labor analgesia （55.11 %）. The results of multivariate analysis showed that the age of pregnant women （OR=2.486）, family monthly income （OR=1.440, 1.523, 2.396）, educational level （OR=2.232, 2.675）, nature of work （OR=2.731） and spouse’s willingness （OR=4.716） were the influencing factors affecting the development of labor analgesia. Conclusion The pregnant women in Xi’an have a relatively low level of cognition of labor analgesia. The family members of pregnant women have good support for labor analgesia, but both pregnant women and family members have some concerns. The popularization and use of labor analgesia are affected by many factors. It is necessary to continue to strengthen publicity and improve people’s cognition.

Key words: Pregnant woman, Labor analgesia, Cognition, Natural delivery, Cesarean section