Psychological, educational, and alternative interventions for reducing fear of childbirth in pregnant women: A systematic review

Aguilera-Martín, Ángel; Gálvez-Lara, Mario; Ruiz, María Soledad; García-Torres, Francisco

doi:10.1002/jclp.23071

Cited by 30 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“… 34 Identification of severe FOC early in pregnancy will allow healthcare professionals to provide appropriate interventions to support and guide pregnant women and nurture their psychological health throughout pregnancy. Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses revealed that interventions including prenatal education and counseling can reduce women’s FOC; 35–37 thereby reducing the risk for future negative consequences to both psychological and obstetric health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of Childbirth and Associated Risk Factors in Healthy Pregnant Women in Northwest of China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Zhou¹,

Liu²,

Li³

et al. 2021

PRBM

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Aim Fear of childbirth (FOC) is an extreme state of anxiety, distress and worry about childbirth. Despite its common occurrence, the prevalence and risk factors for FOC are inadequately understood in the northwestern region of China. Purpose This study aimed to examine the prevalence and risk factors for fear of childbirth (FOC) in a cohort of pregnant women in northwest of China. Patients and Methods A total of 922 healthy pregnant women were included in this cross-sectional study. Participants filled out a questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, as well as the Childbirth Attitudes Questionnaire (CAQ), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Pregnancy Pressure Scale (PPS). Psychosocial factors were analyzed to determine their association with fear of childbirth. Optimal scale regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors associated with FOC. Results The mean score on the CAQ was 33.92 ± 10.17. A total of 72% of participants reported low to mild FOC. Six percent (n=51/922) and 22% (n=199/922) of pregnant women reported severe and moderate FOC, respectively. Based on optimal scaling regression analysis, the factors most strongly associated with FOC were residence, marital status, parity, gestational age, relationship with partner, pregnancy stress, social support and depressive symptoms. Conclusion This study indicates the high prevalence of FOC (70.3%, ranging from mild to severe) in healthy pregnant women in northwest of China. FOC showed a positive correlation with pregnancy-related stress and depressive symptoms and a negative correlation with social support. Screening for FOC and helping pregnant women identify a support system early in pregnancy could reduce a woman’s stress level and severity of depression.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of Childbirth and Associated Risk Factors in Healthy Pregnant Women in Northwest of China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Zhou¹,

Liu²,

Li³

et al. 2021

PRBM

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“…AE is reported to effectively reduce the fear of childbirth (Serçekuş & Başkale, 2016). A systematic review also reported that AE, psycho-education and counselling reduced the fear of birth and anxiety experienced during pregnancy (Aguilera-Martín et al, 2021). Additionally, it is reported that interventions to reduce the fear of birth in the antenatal period can potentially prevent psychological problems that may occur during the postpartum period (Challacombe et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of health literacy education on adaptation to pregnancy, self‐efficacy, fear of childbirth and health literacy in Turkish pregnant women: A randomized, controlled trial

Aslantekin

Ergün

Aksoy

2021

Health Social Care Comm

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This research aims to evaluate the effects of health literacy (HL) education on Turkish pregnant women's adaptations to pregnancy, self-efficacy, fear of childbirth and HL levels. This was a randomised, controlled trial. The research was carried out in the Marmara region of Turkey between July 2018 and April 2019. This research was conducted with three groups including one control (n = 73) and two intervention (n = 109) groups. One of the intervention groups was given antenatal education (AE) for improving HL (HL-AE) (n = 53), and the other was provided AE (n = 56) only. A Pregnancy Information Form, Prenatal Self-Evaluation Questionnaire, Fear of Childbirth and The Postpartum Period Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale and Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 were used for data collection. Results show that adaptation to pregnancy, general self-efficacy and HL levels significantly improved while fear of childbirth decreased in the group that was provided HL-AE intervention group. Additional when the pre-education and post-education scale scores were compared in the AE group, it was found that there was a significant difference in other scale scores, but not for fear of childbirth.

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“…In a recent systematic review of 18 studies, the authors concluded that some therapies might be effective, such as prenatal education, psychoeducation, and counseling. The result also showed that treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy would benefit from more research (Aguliera-Martin et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Depressive symptoms during pregnancy and after birth in women living in Sweden who received treatments for fear of birth

Hildingsson

Rubertsson

2022

Arch Womens Ment Health

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The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors in women who underwent treatments for fear of birth; internet-based cognitive therapy, counseling with midwives, continuity with a known midwife or standard care. A secondary analysis was performed using data collected from four samples of women identified with fear of birth and receiving treatment with different methods. A questionnaire was used to collect data in mid-pregnancy and at follow-up 2 months after birth. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depressive Scale. In mid-pregnancy, 32% of the 422 women with fear of birth also reported a co-morbidity with depressive symptoms. At postpartum follow-up, 19% reported depressive symptoms 2 months after birth, and 12% showed continued or recurrent depressive symptoms identified both during pregnancy and postpartum. A history of mental health problems was the strongest risk factor for presenting with depressive symptoms. None of the treatment options in this study was superior in reducing depressive symptoms. This study showed a significant co-morbidity and overlap between fear of birth and depressive symptoms. Screening for depressive symptoms and fear of birth during pregnancy is important to identify women at risk and offer specific treatment.

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Psychological, educational, and alternative interventions for reducing fear of childbirth in pregnant women: A systematic review

Cited by 30 publications

References 61 publications

Fear of Childbirth and Associated Risk Factors in Healthy Pregnant Women in Northwest of China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Fear of Childbirth and Associated Risk Factors in Healthy Pregnant Women in Northwest of China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Effects of health literacy education on adaptation to pregnancy, self‐efficacy, fear of childbirth and health literacy in Turkish pregnant women: A randomized, controlled trial

Depressive symptoms during pregnancy and after birth in women living in Sweden who received treatments for fear of birth

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