Fear of Childbirth in Late Pregnancy

Abstract

A consecutive unselected series of 139 pregnant women were personally interviewed during their 31st-33rd week of gestation concerning their feelings at the prospect of the anticipated delivery. A severe fear of childbirth was admitted by 9 women (6%), and another 23 (17%) expressed a more moderate, but still distinct fear of delivery. Fear of physical pain was not found to be a dominant contributing factor, and an augmented service for obstetrical analgesia will, therefore, not suffice to curtail the problem of fear of childbirth. Instead, fear of childbirth, if present, must be promptly identified and correctly evaluated to be adequately treated.

Tokophobia (fear of childbirth): prevalence and risk factors

“…Fear of childbirth interfering with the woman's daily functioning is a severe form of tokophobia and referred to as a pathological fear [2]. The prevalence of tokophobia in Western countries is over 20% [2][3][4][5]. An Australian study found that 48% of women reported moderate tokophobia and 26% exhibited strong fear of childbirth [6].…”

Identifying women who are afraid of giving birth: A comparison of the fear of birth scale with the WDEQ-A in a large Australian cohort

“…Fear of childbirth has long been the subject of research interest and clinical attention in the Scandinavian countries [1,2]. More recently it has been explored in other parts of the world with focused research now occurring in Australia [3][4][5].…”

Counseling for childbirth fear – a national survey

“…The most common types of education were motivational interviewing, 17 of 34 responding clinics (50%), and other types of interview methods as basic and advanced counseling skills (15 clinics, 44%). Some clinics had a team member that was educated in CBT (7) or psychotherapy (3). Courses in childbirth fear were mentioned by four clinics.…”

“…Severe fear of childbirth affects 6-10% of pregnant women [3][4][5], and cesarean section on maternal request is more common among women with childbirth fear [6,7]. In Sweden, women with childbirth fear have been offered counseling by experienced midwives as treatment for their fear in most hospitals since the mid 1990s [8].…”