Background
Current measures for fear of childbirth
Aim
Methods
Design and approach
Participants
Low fear (n = 5) | High fear (n = 5) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Range | Mean | Range | Mean | ||
Age range | 32–37 | 35 | 29–38 | 32 | |
Gestation (weeks) | 20–24 | 23 | 32 | ||
N | N | ||||
Marital Status | Single | 0 | 1 | ||
Cohabiting/ married | 5 | 4 | |||
Previous children | Primiparous | 2 | 2 | ||
Multiparous | 3 | 3 |
Researcher characteristics
Measures
Procedure
Data analysis
Results
Understanding and clarity of measures
WDEQ-a
“About a two … Just scared … It would be (frightful) for me but I don’t know whether it would be for the general public, for everybody. Yeah, I think fearful would be better than frightful.”
“That word doesn’t mean anything me. I wouldn’t use it. To be honest I don’t even know what it means.”
“I don’t think I really kind of understand that either? I have to really think about what it means, that is not an easy question to answer, no.”
“so it’s like I’m not going to be strong, my body is not going to do what it’s supposed to do. So maybe yeah, maybe that is a word that I would use probably … Not mentally strong enough because I feel that I, you know, mentally you just have to adapt to the situation that you are in but physically there’s nothing you can do about your body is there?”
“It’s like a capacity to cope with it … Yeah, likes it’s an endurance test.”
“Weak, not able to cope with it. That’s how I would look at it.”
“Weak is a physical one again. Yeah and that’s because I just think of weak as a physical not being able to tolerate it.”
“Being able to cope on your own. Because obviously it is you that is going through it at the end of the day … ”
“So I felt this time, that I have been a little bit independent with speaking out and saying ‘well actually hang on you know I would like it this way, I would like it that way’ … I would say independent or in control.” Q2
“I suppose I could read it and understand what it means but I wouldn’t say to somebody “oh I felt really self-confident” I think I associate self-confidence more with like, you know the way you look or your personality rather than your ability or doing well in something.” Q10
“Self-confidence would probably be about how I feel within myself as a person and maybe I would relate it to more self-confidence to direct and have a say in the process.” Q30
“Lose control like things are going to get so bad that it is a possibility that you would totally lose control of yourself. It’s a little bit scary that maybe that that’s a possibility” Q3
“I suppose I think straight away as in “that was the way I wanted it to go”. But yeah that is what would spring to mind. That all had gone as I wanted it to go or my birth plan had gone completely out the window.” Q28
“I can see how it fits with the way I interpreted natural in terms of the whole sort of rites of passage for womanhood, but I would struggle with that and the wording with that question a bit more, I don’t know how to interpret it.” Q30
“Yeah, I would say that’s a fair question. I probably say more thoughts. Fantasies kind of suggests something that you … now that I reread it, fantasies is like what I want to happen” Q10
OWLS
“No not fear, curiosity but not fear”
SPECS
“Don’t really understand what that means. Like the unknown … like you don’t know. I’m not sure I would know how to answer that? I would take that out, that doesn’t really say anything to me.”
FOBS
Acceptability of measures
Phraseology
[‘Dangerous’, WDEQ] “It’s a bit of a strong word I think. I suppose I would go back … not dangerous I wouldn’t, but safe maybe. Safe is better maybe … Because if you say dangerous you’d panic wouldn’t you? That’s a panic word for me really you know? Whereas safe is a little bit more ‘oh okay then’ but if someone says that that’s dangerous then you are thinking ‘oh what’s happening?’ That sort of panic kicks in doesn’t it? So, no I would definitely say safe and not dangerous.” Q2
[‘Deserted’, WDEQ] “You’re going to be in a hospital, in a strange room and then all of a sudden everyone is going to leave you on your own. Deserted is a little bit scary … No, no that’s not really come into my mind at all. I wouldn’t have that, it’s a bit scary.” Q3
[‘My body will fail me during labour’, SPECS] “Ooh I don’t like that! It’s this one it’s the way it is worded. I understand because it is the expectation you have of yourself. And you could easily be frightened of not having the confidence in yourself to achieve what you expect from labour if that makes sense? But it’s just really dark to go into that and try to quantify that. It’s really full on.” Q22
Presentation and ease of use of each measure
The breadth of items included in each measure
“But that seems really basic and just having the two words, not everyone’s intermediate for calm and worried and no fear and fear is the same. If I placed a line in the middle and someone else did it, it doesn’t mean we think the same thing about what that represents? And I wouldn’t know where to put that mark”
Content validity of each measure
FOC Element | WDEQ-A | OWLS | SPECS | FOBS |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. Fear of not knowing and not being able to plan for the unpredictable | Totally as it should be | Getting to the hospital in time Having a long labour Not knowing how long labour will take Not knowing when I would go into labour | Labour will be complicated | |
2. Fear of harm or stress to the baby | Fantasies child will die Fantasies child will be injured | I am worried about the health of my baby | ||
3. Fear of inability to cope with pain | Pain | Getting effective pain relief Pain and discomfort of labour | ||
4. Fear of harm to self in labour and post-natally | Safe Dangerous | |||
5. Fear of being ‘done to’ | Needing a caesarean Having ventouse or forceps delivery Having to be induced | Labour will be complicated I worry I will need emergency surgery | ||
6. Fear of not having a voice in decision making | ||||
7. Fear of being abandoned/alone | Lonely Deserted Abandoned Trust | |||
8. Body’s ability to give birth | I will allow my body to take control Natural | My body will fail me during labour I will not be able to birth naturally | ||
9. Losing control | Composed Panic I will behave badly I will totally lose control of myself | Embarrassment | ||
10. Generic fear of unknown | Labour is unknown | Fear-no fear |