Fear of childbirth in urban and rural regions of Turkey: Comparison of two resident populations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:Childbirth is a natural physiological event experienced by many women; however, it is frequently also a source of fear in women. Rates of cesarean sections in Turkey are higher in the urban areas than in the rural areas. We hypothesized that lower fear of childbirth (FOC) rates would be observed in the city having the lowest cesarean section rates in Turkey. This study aimed to compare FOC in women in two resident populations: one in a rural area and the other in an urban area.METHODS:This study was conducted on 253 pregnant women in Istanbul, a large urban municipality, and Siirt, a city in rural Turkey. A descriptive information form and the A version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) were used.RESULTS:Severe FOC levels were recorded in women in the Istanbul sample; moreover, these levels were higher than those recorded in women in the Siirt sample. In addition, women in the Istanbul sample preferred vaginal birth to cesarean section and had greater FOC, a finding which demonstrates that women prefer vaginal birth even though they have a higher FOC level and live in a city with high cesarean section rates. Where women live (rural versus urban areas) affects their perception of birth and consequently, their FOC levels.CONCLUSION:The results of this study suggest that further cross-cultural and regional research is needed for better understanding FOC and factors associated with elevated FOC levels within each cultural setting.

Pregnant Women in Turkey Experience Severe Fear of Childbirth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…N. Aksoy et al, 2016;M. Aksoy et al, 2014;Bülbül, Özen, Çopur, & Kayacik, 2016;Okumus & Sahin, 2017; Table 1).…”

“…Studies conducted in Turkey present that the mean scores of FOC vary between 44.3 and 97.3. (Karabulut, Coşkuner Potur, Doğan Merih, Cebeci Mutlu, & Demirci, 2016; Okumus & Sahin, 2017), which possibly stems from the differences between the definitions of FOC, cultural perspectives, antenatal care, and birth practices (Haines et al, 2015). Furthermore, the prevalence of FOC may be different due to various tools in measurement of FOC (Richens, Lavender, & Smith, 2018).…”

“…Since individual studies on FOC have contradictory results (A. N. Aksoy, Ozkan, & Gundogdu, 2015; Okumus & Sahin, 2017), a quantitative review is considered to be required. Meta-analysis is the best method to analyze the contradictions and possible reasons of differences between studies (Deliktaş, Kabukcuoğlu, & Kış, 2016).…”

Fear of childbirth among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Arba Minch town, southern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…Women face many challenges from the conception of their babies to the culmination of the childbirth process. Fear of childbirth (FOC) is one of the problems the women encounter during pregnancy and can be a source of distress for the women, their family, and their caregivers [ 3 – 5 ].…”

Fear of childbirth among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Arba Minch town, southern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

“…Women face many challenges from the conception of their babies to the culmination of the childbirth process. Fear of childbirth (FOC) is one of the problems the women encounter during pregnancy and can be a source of distress for the women, their family, and their caregivers [3][4][5].…”