Defining Childbirth Fear And Anxiety Levels In Pregnant Women

摘要

This study was conducted to determine the childbirth fear and anxiety levels of the pregnant women. This descriptive research was carried out with 184 pregnant women who complied with the specified criteria and agreed to participate in the study in Trabzon, Turkey. The data was collected using the ‘Wijma Delivery Expectance / Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ-A) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). In the analysis of the data, percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation, t test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA and Spearman Correlation Analysis were used. 72.8% of the women were multiparous, 27.2% primiparous and their average age was 29.12 ± 5.68. Of those surveyed, 40.8% were found out to have severe anxiety levels, while 48.9% had severe-clinical levels of childbirth fear experience. A significant positive correlation was determined between the W-DEQ-A average score 63.83 ± 20.13 and the BAI average score 22.66 ± 13.68 (r = 0.484; p = 0.000 0.05). That is, as the W-DEQ-A total score increased, the BAI scores increased too. A statistically significant relationship was found between the BAI average scores of the pregnant women and gestational age, education level, receiving antenatal training and social support availability apart from a spouse (p 0.05). Additionally, a statistically significant correlation was determined between the W-DEQ-A mean scores of the pregnant women and family type, gestational age, education level, number of live births and receiving antenatal training (p 0.05). The BAI and W-DEQ-A scores were found out to be at mid-level.