Relationship between fear of childbirth and oral health-related quality of life in pregnant women: the mediating effect of pregnancy anxiety

Abstract

Background Oral health is an important public health issue. Many studies have explored the relationship between mental health and oral health-related quality of life. However, no studies have explored the relationship between fear of childbirth and oral health-related quality of life in pregnant women. However, several studies have shown that pregnancy anxiety is associated with fear of childbirth and oral health-related quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between fear of childbirth and pregnant women's oral health-related quality of life and explore the mediating role of pregnancy anxiety. Methods This study is a cross-sectional design. The cross-sectional data from 478 pregnant women were included. A descriptive analysis was conducted to describe the sample characteristics. Multiple linear regressions were used to evaluate the relationship between fear of childbirth and oral health-related quality of life. PROCESS software was used to analyze the mediating effect of pregnancy anxiety. Results A significant direct effect between fear of childbirth and oral health-related quality of life has been indicated (β = 0.107, SE = 0.019, 95% CI (0.002,0.076)), and the direct effect accounted for 60% of the total effect. Pregnancy anxiety partially mediated between fear of childbirth and oral health-related quality of life (β = 0.072, SE = 0.030, 95% CI (0.015, 0.131)), and the indirect effect accounted for 40% of the total effect. Conclusions Pregnancy anxiety mediates the relationship between fear of childbirth and oral health-related quality of life in pregnant women. Therefore, attention should be paid to maternal fear of childbirth and pregnancy anxiety to improve pregnant women's oral health-related quality of life.