FEAR OF PREGNANCY AND BIRTH

Year 2024, , 57 - 64, 29.02.2024

Saadet Boybay Koyuncu , İpek Turan

https://doi.org/10.33457/ijhsrp.1416310

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between internet use and fear of childbirth in pregnant women. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 385 pregnant women who were referred to a hospital in Turkey. Data were collected using a personal information form and the Women Childbirth Fear – Prior to Pregnancy Scale (WCF-PPS). The WCF-PPS total mean score of the pregnant women was 38.04±10.49 (17-60) and there was a weakly significant positive correlation between their WCF-PPS total score and duration of daily internet use. In addition, there was a statistically significant relationship between their WCF-PPS total mean score, the issues searched on the Internet about pregnancy/childbirth, the status of believing in the accuracy of the information they obtained on the Internet, the status of confirming this information by health professionals, and the status of having concerns about this information (p<0.05). It is recommended that health professionals be aware of the information needs of pregnant women and take appropriate initiatives in this regard.

Keywords

Childbirth, fear, pregnancy, internet.

Supporting Institution

yok

Thanks

We thank the pregnant women who participated in our study.

References

• Sydsjo, G., Sydsjo, A., Gunnervik, C., Bladh, M., Josefsson, A. “Obstetric outcome for women who received individualized treatment for fear of childbirth during pregnancy”, Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand, 91(1):44-9, 2012. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0412.2011.01242.x
• Serçekuş, P., Vardar, O., Özkan, S. “Fear of childbirth among pregnant women and their spouses in Turkey”, Sexual and Reproductive Health, 24, 100501, 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.srhc.2020.100501
• Areskog, B., Uddenberg, N., Kjessler, B. “Fear of childbirth in late pregnancy”, Gynecol Obstet Invest, 12, 262–6, 1981. doi:10.1159/000299611
• Soet, JE., Brack, G.A., DiIorio, C. “Prevalence and predictors of women’s experience of psychological trauma during childbirth”, Birth, 30, 36–46, 2003. doi: 10.1046/j.1523- 536x.2003.00215.x.
• Bhatt, H., Pandya, S., Kolar, G., Nirmalan, P. K., “The impact of labor epidural analgesia on the childbirth expectation and experience at a tertiary care center in southern India”, J Clin Diagnostic Res, 8:73–6, 2014. doi:10.7860/JCDR/2014/ 8039.4111
• Khwepeya M, Lee GT, Chen SR, Kuo SY. “Childbirth fear and related factors among pregnant and postpartum women in Malawi”, BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 3;18(1), 391, 2018. doi: 10.1186/s12884-018-2023-7.
• Onchonga, D., Varnagy, A Keraka, M., Wainaina, P. “Midwife-led integrated pre-birth training and its impact on the fear of childbirth. A qualitative interview study”, Sex Reprod Healthc, 25, 100512, 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.srhc.2020.100512.
• Moghaddam, H. V., Makai, A Varga, K., Acs, P., Premusz, V., Varnagy, A. ́ “Assessing fear of childbirth and its predictors among Hungarian pregnant women using wijma delivery expectancy/experience questionnaire subscales”, Psychol Health Med, 24, 879–89, 2019. doi:10.1080/13548506.2019.1572904.
• Oh, Y. S., Song, N.K. “Investigating relationships between health-related problems and online health information seeking CIN”, Comput Inf Nurs, 35 (1), 29–35, 2017. doi: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000234.
• Internet world stats usage and population statistics. Internet in Europe stats internet user statistics, 2019, population for the 53 European countries and regions. [accessed 20 October 2022] [Online] Avaliable: https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats4.html.; 2019
• Taştekin Ouyaba A, İnfal Kesim S. “The effect of the Internet on decision-making during pregnancy: a systematic review”, Arch Womens Ment Health, 24(2), 205-215, 2021. doi: 10.1007/s00737-020-01065-5.
• Gao, L. L., Larsson, M., Luo, S.Y. “Internet use by Chinese women seeking pregnancy-related information”, Midwifery, 29, 730–5, 2013. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2012.07.003.
• Sayakhot, P., Carolan-Olah, M. “Internet use by pregnant women seeking pregnancy-related information: a systematic review”, BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 16(65), 2016. doi: 10.1186/s12884- 016-0856-5.
• Kassim M. “A qualitative study of the maternal health information-seeking behaviour of women of reproductive age in Mpwapwa district, Tanzania”, Health Info Libr J, 38(3), 182-193, 2021. doi: 10.1111/hir.12329.
• Stoll, K., Hauck, Y., Downe, S., Edmonds, J., Gross, M.M., Malott, A., McNiven, P., Swift, E., Thomson, G., Hall, W.A.” Cross-cultural development and psychometric evaluation of a measure to assess fear of childbirth prior to pregnancy”, Sex Reprod Health, 8, 49-54, 2016. doi:10.1016/j.srhc.2016.02.004.
• Uçar, T., Taşhan, S. T. “Gebelik öncesi doğum korkusu ölçeğinin Türkçe uyarlaması: kadın ve erkeklerde geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması”, ACU Sağlık Bil Derg, 9(3), 289-296, 2018. https://doi.org/10.31067/0.2018.43
• Smith, V., Gallagher, L., Carroll, M., Hannon, K., Begley, C. “Antenatal and intrapartum interventions for reducing cesarean section, promoting vaginal birth, and reducing fear of childbirth: An overview of systematic reviews”, Plos One, 24, 14(10):e0224313, 2019. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224313.
• Wigert, H., Nilsson, C., Dencker, A., Begley, C., Jangsten, E., Sparud-Lundin, C., Mollberg, M., Patel, H. “Women’s experiences of fear of childbirth: a meta synthesis of qualitative studies”, Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being, 15(1), 1704484, 2020. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2019.1704484.
• Cirban, E., Özsoy, S. “The role of the Internet in meeting information needs during pregnancy”, Journal of Continuing Medical Education 29(5), 351-360, 2020.
• Kocademir, L., Determination of Internet Usage Status of Pregnants, Master thesis, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, 2022
• Jacobs EJA, van Steijn ME, van Pampus MG. “Internet usage of women attempting pregnancy and pregnant women in the Netherlands”, Sex Reprod Healthc. 21, 9-14, 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.srhc.2019.04.005.
• Masella, M. A., B. Godard. “Enjeux éthiques du recours à Internet par les femmes enceintes dans leur suivi de grossesse”, Sante publique (Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France), 32(2-3), 171–182, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3917/spub.202.0171