Pregnant women's thoughts when assessing fear of birth on the Fear of Birth Scale
Abstract
Background Fear of childbirth is common during pregnancy but rarely assessed in clinical practice. The Fear of Birth Scale has been proposed as a valid measure suitable for assessing fear of birth in an antenatal clinical context. To make sure that the scale makes sense in relation to the known constructs of fear of birth, it is important to find out what women think when responding to the Fear of Birth Scale.Aim To report what women in mid-pregnancy think when assessing fear of birth on the Fear of Birth Scale.Methods A qualitative design using semi-structured interviews with a think aloud technique was used. Thirty-one women were recruited in gestational week 17-20. Content analysis was conducted to describe the different dimensions of fear of birth.Findings Worry was described as unspecific feelings and thoughts, often with a negative loading. Fear was described as a strong feeling connected to something specific. Furthermore, the women thought about aspects that influence their worries and fears and explained the strategies that helped them to cope with their fear of birth.Conclusion Women could clearly assess, describe, and discuss fear of birth using the Fear of Birth Scale. This supports the use of the Fear of Birth Scale in clinical settings as a starting point for further dialogue about women's fear of birth. The dialogue may identify women's need for information, treatment, and referral when necessary.
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FOBS has previously been used in child-bearing populations and has been proposed as a valid instrument for measuring fear of birth in both research and clinical contexts.
“FOBS has previously been used in child-bearing populations [45,51-53] and has been proposed as a valid instrument for measuring FOB in both research and clinical contexts [11,45].”
From Comparing internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy with standard care for women with fear of birth: Randomized controlled trial (2018) · cites this paper as [53]
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- Authors
- Ternström, E., Hildingsson, I., Haines, H., & Rubertsson, C.
- Affiliations
- Uppsala University (SE)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Ternström, Elin
- Venue
- Women and Birth
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2016-06
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- e44-e49
- ISSN
- 1871-5192 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2209988845
- Cited by
- 60
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 5.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Women and Birth (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Education › Health Education and Validation
- Keywords
- fear of childbirth, pregnant women, antenatal assessment, think-aloud, worry, coping strategies, scale validity, second trimester, women's experiences
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Fear, Female, Humans, Pregnancy, Parturition, Delivery, Obstetric, Pregnant People, Young Adult
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