The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
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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In the citing paper
“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]
In the citing paper
“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]
In the citing paper
“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]
In the citing paper
“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]
Citations
Cites
Psychometric aspects of the W-DEQ; a new questionnaire for the measurement of fear of childbirth.
Wijma, K., Wijma, B., & Zar, M. (1998) · Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology · doi:10.3109/01674829809048501 · Cited by 811
Fear of childbirth: a neglected dilemma
Saisto, T., & Halmesmäki, E. (2003) · Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica · doi:10.1034/j.1600-0412.2003.00114.x · Cited by 461
Waldenström, U., Hildingsson, I., & Ryding, E. (2006) · BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology · doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2006.00950.x · Cited by 415
Self-citationNieminen, K., Stephansson, O., & Ryding, E. L. (2009) · Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica · doi:10.1080/00016340902998436 · Cited by 373
Fear of childbirth according to parity, gestational age, and obstetric history
Rouhe, H., Salmela‐Aro, K., Halmesmäki, E., & Saisto, T. (2008) · BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology · doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2008.02002.x · Cited by 363
Anxiety in early pregnancy: prevalence and contributing factors
Rubertsson, C., Hellström, J., Cross, M., & Sydsjö, G. (2014) · Archives of Women s Mental Health · doi:10.1007/s00737-013-0409-0 · Cited by 349
Few women wish to be delivered by caesarean section
Hildingsson, I., Rådestad, I. J., Rubertsson, C., & Waldenström, U. (2002) · BJOG An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology · doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2002.01393.x · Cited by 294
Self-citationFenwick, J., Gamble, J., Nathan, E., Bayes, S., & Hauck, Y. (2009) · Journal of Clinical Nursing · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02568.x · Cited by 280
Fear of childbirth; the relation to anxiety and depression
Størksen, H. T., Eberhard‐Gran, M., Garthus‐Niegel, S., & Eskild, A. (2011) · Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0412.2011.01323.x · Cited by 268
Cross-cultural comparison of levels of childbirth-related fear in an Australian and Swedish sample
Haines, H., Pallant, J. F., Karlström, A., & Hildingsson, I. (2011) · Midwifery · doi:10.1016/j.midw.2010.05.004 · Cited by 265
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Items 101–101 of 101
Addo, J. O., Opoku, D. A., Karikari, J. K., Konadu, E., Addae, M., Kyei, F. K., Kanfra, M., Amponsah, O. K. O., & Boadu, E. A. (2026) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0358457
Metadata
- 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 › Obstetrics and Gynecology › 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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