Presence and process of fear of birth during pregnancy—Findings from a longitudinal cohort study
Abstract
Background The prevalence of fear of birth has been estimated between 8-30%, but there is considerable heterogeneity in research design, definitions, measurement tools used and populations. There are some inconclusive findings about the stability of childbirth fear.Aim to assess the prevalence and characteristics of women presenting with scores ≥60 on FOBS-The Fear of Birth Scale, in mid and late pregnancy, and to study change in fear of birth and associated factors.Methods A prospective longitudinal cohort study of a one-year cohort of 1212 pregnant women from a northern part of Sweden, recruited in mid pregnancy and followed up in late pregnancy. Fear of birth was assessed using FOBS-The fear of birth scale, with the cut off at ≥60.Findings The prevalence of fear of birth was 22% in mid pregnancy and 19% in late pregnancy, a statistically significant decrease. Different patterns were found where some women presented with increased fear and some with decreased fear. The women who experienced more fear or less fear later in pregnancy could not be differentiated by background factors.Conclusions More research is needed to explore factors important to reduce fear of childbirth and the optimal time to measure it.
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The level of fear of birth was assessed by the Fear of Birth Scale (FOBS), where a cutoff of ≥60 was used to identify fear of birth.
“The level of FOB was assessed by the Fear of Birth Scale (FOBS), where a cutoff of ≥60 was used to identify FOB [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 [11]
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 [11]
If the differences relate to SC, the results might be in line with recently published results showing that women who receive SC for FOB still have higher levels of FOB in late pregnancy than women with FOB who do not receive SC.
“If so, our results might be in line with recently published results showing that women who receive SC for FOB still have higher levels of FOB in late pregnancy than women with FOB who do not receive SC [11].”
From Comparing internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy with standard care for women with fear of birth: Randomized controlled trial (2018) · cites this paper as [11]
Similar decreases in FOB over time have been shown before, both among women with mixed levels of fear in early pregnancy and among women receiving support for FOB.
“Similar decreases in FOB over time have been shown before, both among women with mixed levels of fear in early pregnancy [11] and among women receiving support for FOB [27].”
From Comparing internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy with standard care for women with fear of birth: Randomized controlled trial (2018) · cites this paper as [11]
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- Authors
- Hildingsson, I., Haines, H., Karlström, A., & Nystedt, A.
- Affiliations
- Uppsala University (SE)
- Mid Sweden University (SE)
- Umeå University (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Hildingsson, Ingegerd
- Venue
- Women and Birth
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-10
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- e242-e247
- ISSN
- 1871-5192 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2591751870
- Cited by
- 101
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 9.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Women and Birth (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Swedish Research Council
- Uppsala University
- Mid Sweden University
- 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
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Pregnancy-related medical research
- Keywords
- fear of childbirth, pregnancy, prevalence, second trimester, late pregnancy, risk factors
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Attitude to Health, Fear, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Pregnancy, Prospective Studies, Sweden, Cohort Studies, Prevalence, Perinatal Care, Parturition, Delivery, Obstetric, Pregnant People
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