Background: In addition to mothers, fathers may find the perinatal period difficult and complicated and experience a wide variety of emotions such as fear, anxiety, and depression. These emotional changes can adversely affect a father’s relationships with his infant and wife. Although most of the mental health problems experienced by fathers have generally been assessed in developed countries, there are insufficient data in developing countries. Hence, this study aimed to determine the fear of childbirth and its relationships with anxiety and depression among Iranian fathers. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the cluster sampling method was employed to enroll 302 husbands of pregnant women visiting health centers in Tabriz, Iran, in 2022. The data collection tools were the Sociodemographic and Obstetric Characteristics Questionnaire, Paternal Fear of Childbirth Scale, Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). To assess the relationships of fear of childbirth with depression and anxiety, Pearson correlation tests was conducted in a bivariate analysis, and the general linear model (GLM) (with adjusting sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics) was employed in a multivariate analysis. Results: The mean (±SD) of paternal fear of childbirth score was 48.39 (±14.10) within the possible 17–85 range. According to Pearson correlation test results, fear of childbirth had significant direct correlations with depression (P< 0.001; r= 0.47), state anxiety (P< 0.001; r= 0.60), and trait anxiety (P< 0.001; r= 0.51). The adjusted GLM results indicated that an increase in fear of childbirth score significantly increased depression (B= 0.18; 95% CI:0.13 to 0.22; P< 0.001), state anxiety (B= 0.45; 95% CI: 0.38 to 0.53; P< 0.001), and trait anxiety (B= 0.35; 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.42; P< 0.001) scores obtained from participants. Conclusions: The research results indicated that paternal fear of childbirth significantly affected paternal anxiety and depression levels in the perinatal period. Therefore, it is recommended to develop comprehensive programs to screen fathers for fear of childbirth and psychological problems and to implement appropriate preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Background Every year, millions of women worldwide suffer in silence from pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) as an annoying health problem. Despite the high prevalence rate and negative effects of PFDs on the quality of life, the validity and reliability of pelvic floor distress inventory-short form (PFDI-20) has not been confirmed for Iranian women of reproductive age. Hence, this study aimed to determine measurement properties of PFDI-20 among women of reproductive age in Tabriz, Iran. Methods The current study was cross-sectional research that selected 400 women of reproductive age referring to health centers in Tabriz City, by using cluster random sampling from May 2022 to September 2022. Measurement properties of the Persian version of PFDI-20 were determined and evaluated through five steps, including content and face validity within two quantitative and qualitative parts, structural validity by using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability testing through internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and measurement error. Moreover, ceiling and floor effects were investigated. Results In this research, CVI (content validity index) and CVR (content validity ratio) of PFDI-20 equaled 0.94 and 0.97, respectively. In addition, the EFA process was applied to 20 items and derived the structure of three factors, which explained 58.15% of the total variance. In CFA phase, values of fit indicators (RMSEA = 0.07, SRMR = 0.07, TLI = 0.97, CFI = 0.99, x2/df = 3.19) confirmed the model validity. To determine reliability, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.84; McDonald’s omega (95% CI) = 0.84 (0.82 to 0.87) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (95% CI) = 0.98 (0.97 to 0.99) were obtained. Also, the SEM was 2.64, and the SDC indicating the smallest individual change was 8.91. Regarding the inventory feasibility, the ceiling effect was not observed in total value and subscales, while the floor effect in the total score of PFDI-20 equaled 24.0. The latter rate equaled 45.8, 38.3, and 50.8 for subscales POPDI-6, CRADI-8, and UDI-6, respectively. Conclusions Persian version of PFDI-20 is a valid and reliable scale used to evaluate PFDs in Iranian women of reproductive age. Healthcare professionals can use this scale to screen PFDs, and researchers can consider it a reliable tool for their studies.

Background With high severity and prevalence, pelvic floor disorder is a health issue that women face worldwide. Different demographic-obstetric factors are involved in the emergence of this dysfunction that can have many adverse effects on a woman’s quality of life. Hence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of pelvic floor disorder and its related socio-demographic and obstetric factors among Iranian women of reproductive age. Methods The statistical population of this cross-sectional study included 400 woman of reproductive age (15–49 years) covered by the health centers of Tabriz, Iran in 2022. The cluster sampling method was employed to select the participants. The data collection tools were a socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics questionnaire and the PDFI-20 (Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20). The chi-squared test was conducted to determine the association between socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics and prevalence of pelvic floor disorder in a bivariate analysis, whereas the multivariate logistic regression test was used in a multivariate analysis. Results The general prevalence of pelvic floor disorder was 76%. The prevalence rates of pelvic organ prolapse distress 6 (POPDI-6), colorectal-anal distress 8 (CRAD-8), and urinary distress (UDI-6) were 54.3%, 61.8%, and 49.3%, respectively. The results of the multivariate logistic regression test indicated that constipation (odds ratio = 5.62; 95% CI 1.97 to 16.03; P = 0.001) increased the risk of pelvic floor disorder. Conclusions According to the findings, the prevalence of pelvic floor disorder is high among Iranian women of reproductive age. This condition is correlated with constipation. Therefore, screening is recommended through valid tools in addition to offering preventive measures such as preventing and curing constipation to reduce the risk of pelvic floor disorder.