Factors associated with fear of childbirth in pregnant women in a University Hospital in Southern Brazil.
Priscilla Scucato Minioli, Marina Accioly de Castro, Raíssa Almeida Ramos and 4 others
PMID 42284485WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant women with very high fear of childbirth reported significantly more fear of panicking, losing control, intense pain, prolonged labor, and uncertainty about labor duration.
Screening for these specific anticipatory fears in the third trimester can identify women needing extra emotional support.
Key findings
01Higher levels of childbirth fear were associated with greater proportions of specific fears, including panicking, losing control, intense labor pain, prolonged labor, and uncertainty regarding labor duration.
02Tokophobia (W-DEQ(A) score ≥ 100) was observed in 4.8% of participants, while 13.2% reported very high fear levels.
03Fears of hemorrhage, emergency cesarean section, preterm birth, and being hospitalized before labor onset were not significantly associated with very high childbirth fear.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted in a tertiary referral center for high-risk pregnancies, so the sample is not representative of low-risk pregnancies or private healthcare settings. The W-DEQ(A) scale was translated and back-translated but not formally validated or culturally adapted for the Brazilian population. The custom questionnaire developed by the authors was not validated. Data collection occurred during the third trimester, a period of naturally heightened anxiety, which may have influenced reported fear levels. Self-administered questionnaires resulted in missing data for some sociodemographic variables. The cross-sectional design cannot determine causality between specific fears and overall childbirth fear levels.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources are explicitly declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that fear of childbirth in this population is primarily driven by fear of medical interventions or rare complications like hemorrhage, as these were not significantly associated with very high fear levels. The strongest predictors were subjective experiences of loss of control, pain, and uncertainty.