A systematic review of clinical trials affecting anxiety, stress and fear of childbirth in expectant fathers

Ghaffari, Seyedeh Fatemeh; Elyasi, Forouzan; Mousavinasab, Seyed Nouraddin; Shahhosseini, Zohreh

doi:10.1002/nop2.681

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Examples of these fears include fear of not becoming a father, fear of problems that could endanger the health of both mother and child, fear of birth complications or defects, fear of inappropriate behavior by hospital staff, and unpredictability of the delivery process [11,13]. In developed countries, the prevalence of severe fear of childbirth among fathers is estimated to be 13% [3,14,15]. In addition, the prevalence rates of anxiety and depression among fathers during this period are estimated to be 5-15% and 5-10%, respectively [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of childbirth and its relationship with anxiety and depression among Iranian fathers: a cross-sectional study

Rashidi

Mirghafourvand

Malakouti

2022

Preprint

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of childbirth and its relationship with anxiety and depression among Iranian fathers: a cross-sectional study

Rashidi

Mirghafourvand

Malakouti

2022

Preprint

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“…Many other elements that make up FOC in men were also declared, such as fear of inability to cope, not being allowed to participate in important decisions, lack of knowledge, unfamiliar healthcare providers and medical environment (19). In the clinical practice, FOC intensities are commonly classified as mild, moderate, severe, and disabling fear (known as tokophobia) (20). Some level of FOC is regarded as normal and adaptive (21), while its exacerbation during pregnancy and childbirth is undesirable (22).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, other adverse consequences of elevated paternal FOC may include but not be limited to undermining fathers' capability to support their wives, lowering their self-efficacy to achieve paternal roles, impairing the paternal-infant attachment, jeopardizing the couple relationships, and triggering psychiatric disorders (19,31). Fortunately, there are opportunities to mitigate these negative effects and provide a more pleasant pregnancy and childbirth experience for the distressed father-to-be by identifying fathers at risk of FOC early and providing them with positive childbirth preparation as well as supportive, appropriate, and timely care (11,20).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the fathers’ fear of childbirth scale: A cross-sectional study

Guo

Zhang²,

Cui³

et al. 2023

Front. Psychiatry

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Background and AimFear of childbirth (FOC) is one of the most common mental health concerns among expectant fathers, which can cause adverse consequences for themselves and their families. A valid and accurate tool is the key to the identification of FOC. This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the fathers’ fear of childbirth scale (FFCS) into simplified Chinese and test the scale’s psychometric properties among expectant fathers in mainland China.MethodsResearchers obtained translation permission and followed the multiphase translation guidelines to develop the Chinese version of the fathers’ fear of childbirth scale (C-FFCS). Relevant psychometric properties were selected for the scale’s psychometric validation on the basis of the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Status Measurement Instruments checklist. In this cross-sectional study, two samples of expectant fathers were collected in a university-affiliated hospital in Hangzhou between September and October 2022.ResultsA total of 381 expectant fathers completed the C-FFCS, resulting in an effective response rate of 95.6%. The C-FFCS is a 3-factor structure consisting of 16 items, which explained 66.374% of the total variance. The content validity index of items ranged from 0.833 to 1.00, and the scale-level content validity index was 0.931. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the scale’s 3-factor structure. Evidence of convergent validity (average variance extracted = 0.508–0.780) as well as discriminant validity offered excellent psychometric support. The Cronbach’s α coefficient, McDonald’s ω coefficient, intraclass correlation coefficient, Spearman-Brown coefficient, and Guttman split-half coefficient are within the satisfactory range (> 0.80). Significant correlations between the scores of the C-FFCS and Childbirth Attitude Questionnaire (r = 0.658, p < 0.01) and Fear of Birth Scale (r = 0.555, p < 0.01) both revealed good concurrent validity. The structure of C-FFCS was invariant across different parity groups, with no floor and ceiling effect.ConclusionThe C-FFCS was demonstrated to be a sound instrument with good reliability and validity for measuring Chinese expectant fathers’ FOC levels. However, further studies are advocated to verify the C-FFCS among a larger sample that is more representative of the Chinese expectant father population.

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“…According to the results of studies, fear of childbirth has been observed in 11–37% of fathers [ 13 – 16 ]. Since fathers have fewer positive feelings towards pregnancy due to fear of childbirth, it is less likely that they perceive pregnancy as a positive life event [ 14 , 17 ]. Furthermore, fathers with the fear of childbirth have lower General Self-Efficacy (GSE), which may negatively affect their ability to support their wives [ 18 – 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of midwifery-led counseling on expectant fathers’ fear of childbirth: a smartphone- based randomized controlled trial

Ghaffari

Elyasi

Mousavinasab

et al. 2022

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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Background Expectant fathers experience a range of different emotions during their wife’s pregnancy; one of these feelings is fear. It has adverse consequences on both the father and his family. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of midwifery-led counseling on the fear of childbirth among expectant fathers. Methods A two-armed parallel design randomized controlled trial was conducted from July to August 2020. Fifty expectant fathers with severe fear of childbirth at the 24th–27th weeks of gestation, in the Iranian setting, were assigned to intervention and control groups (allocation ratio1:1) using permuted block randomization. Participants assigned to the intervention group were engaged in six 60–90-min midwifery-led counseling sessions (twice a week) in the Skyroom platform. Measures were administered at recruitment, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up. The primary outcome was the change in fear of childbirth score between groups over time. Secondary outcomes were changes in the General Self-Efficacy score as well as changes in the frequency of the preferred type of delivery between groups over time. Results The mean age of the participants was 31.64 (3.33) years. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the fear of childbirth score in the intervention group significantly decreased (β = − 11.84; 95% Confidence Interval: − 21.90 to − 1.78; P = 0.021) compared to that of the control group. In terms of secondary outcomes, the intervention group showed a significant increase in General Self-Efficacy compared to the intervention group at one-month follow-up measurement (β = 1.43; 95% Confidence Interval: 0.28 to 2.58; P = 0.014). However, the frequency of preferred delivery type was not significantly different between the intervention and control groups (P = 0.139). Conclusions Midwifery-led counseling can be an effective approach in reducing expectant fathers’ childbirth fear with potential clinical significance. Although the inconclusive results imply more research on this issue. Trial registration Registration number: IRCT20150608022609N6. Registered 12/04/2019.

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A systematic review of clinical trials affecting anxiety, stress and fear of childbirth in expectant fathers

Cited by 14 publications

References 45 publications

Fear of childbirth and its relationship with anxiety and depression among Iranian fathers: a cross-sectional study

Fear of childbirth and its relationship with anxiety and depression among Iranian fathers: a cross-sectional study

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the fathers’ fear of childbirth scale: A cross-sectional study

The effect of midwifery-led counseling on expectant fathers’ fear of childbirth: a smartphone- based randomized controlled trial

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