Determinants of Fear of Childbirth in Pregnant Women with a History of Cesarean Delivery
Abstract
Objectives: In this study, it was aimed to examine the fear of childbirth (FOC) and the factors associated with FOC in pregnant women who had a
history of cesarean section in their previous pregnancies.
Materials and Methods: The study included pregnant women who were followed up in the pregnant outpatient clinic, had a history of previous
cesarean section, and were between the 24th and 40th weeks of their current pregnancies. A sociodemographic and clinical information form, which
included information about age, education level, current pregnancy and previous pregnancies, psychiatric and internal disease history, and sexual
functions, was filled in for all pregnant women in the study. All pregnant women completed the Beck depression inventory (BDI) and Beck anxiety
inventory (BAI).
Results: One hundred and thirty-one pregnant women were included in the study and 74.4% of them declared that they experienced significant
FOC. It was determined that the pregnant women with FOC experienced statistically significantly more fear during vaginal examination, reported
pain/contraction during sexual intercourse, expressed fear that they would experience pain/contraction during sexual intercourse and higher scores
of BDI, BAI. In logistic regression analysis, it was found that education level, fear in vaginal examination, and fear of pain during sexual intercourse
predicted the FOC.
Conclusion: A high rate of FOC is also seen in pregnant women with a history of cesarean section, and vaginismus is an important risk factor for
FOC in these women. Questioning vaginismus in all pregnant women will contribute to both pregnancy follow-ups and decreasing the rates of
elective cesarean section.
Keywords
Cesarean Section, Fear Of Childbirth, Pregnancy, Vaginismus
Ethical Statement
The study was approved the
ethics committee of Dr. Zekai Tahir Burak Women’s Health
Training and Research Hospital (date: 27.05.2013, approval no: 41).
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