Causes and Grounds of Childbirth Fear and Coping Strategies Used by Kurdish Adolescent Pregnant Women in Iran: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: Fear of childbirth is one of the most common problems among pregnant women that can threaten their and their baby’s health. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the causes and grounds of childbirth fear and the strategies used by pregnant adolescent women in Iran to overcome such fears.
 Methods: In this study, which was conducted among primiparous Kurdish women in Iran, conventional qualitative content analysis was used. Data were selected through purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews. Data saturation was reached with 15 participants. The Lincoln and Guba criteria were used to strengthen the research.
 Results: After analyzing the data, two main categories were resulted. The first category was fear of childbirth with subcategories of fear of child health, fear of childbirth process, fears about inappropriate medical staff performance, fears about hospital environment, and postpartum fears. The second category was strategies to reduce childbirth fear with subcategories of choosing appropriate medical centers, increasing information on childbirth, avoiding stressful sources, improving self-care, getting prepared for delivery day in advance, and resorting to spirituality.
 Conclusion: Pregnancy in adult age is better than adolescent age. The women’s fear can be reduced by increasing their assurance about child health, providing appropriate training during pregnancy, explaining the whole process of childbirth and making it easier, improving the hospital environment and medical staff specialization, as well as providing appropriate conditions for further care and support after birth.

The prevalence and predictors of fear of childbirth among pregnant Chinese women: a hierarchical regression analysis

“…However, Laursen et al [ 18 ] demonstrated that young women < 20 years reported intense FOC in a study from Denmark. Very young women are worried that they will not be able to take care of their child appropriately [ 49 ]. In addition, poor partner support was correlated with FOC.…”

“…The scale included four domains: fear of fetal health; fear of losing control during childbirth; fear of childbirth pain; fear of medical intervention and the hospital environment. CAQ total scores were categorized as none (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), mild (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39), moderate (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51) and severe (52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62)(63)(64). Wei wand her colleagues translated the scale into Chines...…”

“…Note: ***P < 0.001; FOC: fear of childbirth However, Laursen et al [18] demonstrated that young women < 20 years reported intense FOC in a study from Denmark. Very young women are worried that they will not be able to take care of their child appropriately [49].…”

Factors of the childbirth fear among nulliparous women in Iran

“…In general, FOC may have several risks, such as abortion, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, risk of birth trauma such as fistula, risk of dystocia, hypertension and preeclampsia, preterm labor, labor intolerable pain, reduced quality of life, as well as harmful effects on the children such as low birth weight and impaired immune system. Therefore, FOC and its complications are likely to increase obstetric interventions and subsequent health care costs [ 9 , 13 , 15 – 21 ].…”

“…Various studies have identified various potential causes of FOC, including the following: personality traits, concerns about baby health, low educational status, history of childhood sexual and physical violence, inadequate awareness, interactions with medical staff, fear of the unknown, birth-related problems and procedures, internalizing other women's negative stories, being a nulliparous, rural living, low self-efficacy, lack of social support, cultural differences, race and ethnicity, and self-esteem [ 1 , 4 , 8 , 13 , 22 – 24 ].…”