Fear of childbirth in obstetrically low‐risk nulliparous women in Sweden and Denmark

Kjærgaard, Hanne Wacher; Wijma, Klaas; Dykes, Anna-Karin; Alehagen, Siw

doi:10.1080/02646830802408498

Cited by 75 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Of this, 6-10% of the women experience severe levels of fear, which influences their ability to expect a normal birth (Kjaergaard, Wijma, Dykes, & Alehagen, 2008). A study conducted by Lukasse et al (2014) in six European countries shows that 11% (n=768) of all the women participants reported intense fear of childbirth, 11.4% were primiparous women and 11.0% multiparous women.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fear of Childbirth: A Study in the North of Portugal

Prata¹,

Santos²,

Santos³

et al. 2016

European Proceedings of Social &Amp; Behavioural Sciences

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Childbirth is a universal phenomenon and a meaningful experience that has the potential to trigger developmental transitions, stress, anxiety and/or fear, which, at times, can negatively impact future childbirth experiences. An exploratory and descriptive study was conducted aiming to identify the levels of fear experienced by pregnant women associated with childbirth and their main causes. A convenience sample was selected. Data collection were carried out in an outpatient obstetric hospital in the northern region of Portugal, between July 2010 and July 2012. To evaluate the intensity of fear of childbirth a visual analogic scale of 10 points was applied. Interviews were conducted in order to identify the main causes of fear. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained. Regarding the level of fear, the majority (98%) of pregnant women had fear of childbirth, 60.2% reported moderate fear and 28% intense fear. Anxiety, primiparity and lack of knowledge related to birthing were also found to increase the fear of childbirth. Some of the main causes of fear identified were: complications during childbirth; pain/suffering; not knowing how to cope with pain; not able to give birth; baby with malformation/disease and/or suffering. Most women feel moderate or intense fear of childbirth and this is associated to well identified causes with high impact on the woman and family. To minimize the effects of fear, an early intervention has to be considered, including childbirth education classes where nurses can address and work women's fear in order to minimize it and promote a more positive experience.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fear of Childbirth: A Study in the North of Portugal

Prata¹,

Santos²,

Santos³

et al. 2016

European Proceedings of Social &Amp; Behavioural Sciences

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“…[29] An additional 13% of non-pregnant women are fearful enough of parturition to delay or evade maternity. [30] If pregnant woman thinks that she cannot control delivery, the consequential fear and anxiety makes her prefer CS in the absence of medical reasons.…”

Section: Significance Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with fear of childbirth: It’s effect on women’s preference for elective cesarean section

El-Aziz

Mansour

Hassan

2016

JNEP

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Background and objective: Childbirth fear is a major problem for women, as it results in avoidance of maternity, women & fetal stress and raise in women requests for cesarean delivery. The aim of this study is to investigate factors associated with fear of childbirth (FOC), and its effect on women's preference for elective cesarean section (CS). Methods: Design: Cross sectional descriptive design. Setting: Study conducted at five obstetrical and gynecological private clinics in El-Mahalla El-Kobra city. Subjects: A purposive sample consisted of 205 pregnant women selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Tools: Three tools were used for data collection (Structured Interview Questionnaire, Melender (2002) Questionnaire to measure childbirth fear associated factors and Childbirth Attitudes Questionnaire). Results: Revealed that 47.8% of pregnant women preferred elective CS. Fear of vaginal birth, safer mode for the baby, no influence on postpartum sexual life and pain associated with delivery were the most reasons for CS preference. Childbirth factor was the highest factor associated with FOC with mean ± SD 12.439 ± 3.949. Fear of pain, episiotomy and lacerations were the highest sub factors representative for childbirth factor (89.3%, 83.9%, and 82.4% respectively). The highest cause of FOC was negative mood with mean ± SD 13.302 ± 3.500. 50.0% of pregnant women with high FOC preferred CS. Conclusions and recommendations: Childbirth factor was the highest factor associated with FOC. Fear of pain, episiotomy and lacerations were the highest sub factors representative for childbirth factor associated with FOC. Pregnant women with high fear of childbirth preferred cesarean section. Recommendations: Undertaking information, education and communication programs to increase awareness of the women, husbands, health providers and society about childbirth fear and its effect on cesarean section preference in order to decrease elective cesarean section rate.

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“…In the population of pregnant women, the level of FOC, as measured by the W-DEQ [9,10], is normally distributed [11,12]. Little is known about the normal course of FOC as measured with the W-DEQ in unselected samples of nulliparous pregnant women.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies show that 20-25% of pregnant women have worrying thoughts about their imminent delivery [12][13][14][15], and that 6-11% suffer from severe FOC [5,16]. For some women (2.5%) [17], this fear is so intense that it meets the criteria for a specific phobia according to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment of nulliparous women with severe fear of childbirth via the Internet: a feasibility study

Nieminen

Andersson

Wijma

et al. 2016

Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology

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Objective: The aim of the present study was to test the feasibility of Internet interventions among nulliparous women suffering from severe fear of childbirth (FOC) by means of an Internet-delivered therapist-supported self-help program based on cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT).Design: Prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Conclusions:The results of this feasibility study suggest that ICBT has potential in the treatment of severe FOC during pregnancy in motivated nulliparous women. The results need to be confirmed by randomized controlled studies.4

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Fear of childbirth in obstetrically low‐risk nulliparous women in Sweden and Denmark

Cited by 75 publications

References 35 publications

The Fear of Childbirth: A Study in the North of Portugal

The Fear of Childbirth: A Study in the North of Portugal

Factors associated with fear of childbirth: It’s effect on women’s preference for elective cesarean section

Treatment of nulliparous women with severe fear of childbirth via the Internet: a feasibility study

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