Childbirth Related Fear and Worry During Pregnancy

NCT03353168 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: 2014/372-31Ö
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 499
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

This is a study of childbirth related anxiety, fear or worry, in which we follow women from mid pregnancy until about 8 months postpartum. Our overall aim is to enhance our understanding of psychological factors contributing to childbirth related fear or worry. Specifically, we wish to investigate

• associations between psychological factors (pain catastrophizing, intolerance of uncertainty, worry beliefs, cognitive avoidance, insomnia, life satisfaction, anxiety- and depressive symptoms, worry parameters, and behavioral avoidance) and childbirth related fear or anxiety during pregnancy
• the impact of childbirth related fear or anxiety and other psychological factors during pregnancy on epidural use during delivery and obstetric outcome variables
• childbirth related fear or anxiety during pregnancy, psychological factors, epidural use, and obstetric outcome variables as predictors of self-reported birth experiences 6-10 months postpartum.
• childbirth related fear or anxiety during pregnancy, psychological factors, epidural use, obstetric outcome variables, and self-reported birth experiences as predictors of childbirth related fear or anxiety 6-10 months postpartum Women in mid-pregnancy will be recruited at routine check-ups with midwifes working in antenatal health care units in two Swedish regions. After consenting to participate, they will be answering a questionnaire with sociodemographic and obstetric background data, measures of childbirth related fear and anxiety, and measures of psychological variables with a potential relation to childbirth related anxiety. 6-10 months after giving birth they will be contacted again with a postpartum follow-up questionnaire asking questions about the experience of giving birth, postpartum levels of childbirth related fear or anxiety, and thoughts about possible future childbirths. They will also be asked if willing to let the research team include information from their obstetric medical chart (e.g. birth mode and birth interventions, use of analgesia, and complications for the mother and baby) in statistical analyses.

Conditions

Fear of Childbirth; Anxiety

Keywords

fear; anxiety; childbirth; pregnancy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Fear of Birth Scale

  Two item VAS-scale assessing worry and fear relating to childbirth. The instrument will be used both as a continuous measure of level of fear, and with a cut point of ≥ 60 indicating fear of birth (\< 60 = no fear of birth)

  Baseline (around gestational week 20-25) and 6-12 months after expected delivery

• Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire

  33 item 6 point Likert scale questionnaire in which the items refer to cognitive and emotional expectations of the forthcoming childbirth. The instrument will be used both as a continuous measure of level of fear, and with a cut point of ≥ 85 indicating fear of childbirth (\< 85 = no fear of childbirth)

  Baseline (around gestational week 20-25) and 6-12 months after expected delivery

Secondary Outcomes (13)

• The use of epidural anesthesia during delivery

  during delivery

• Start of contractions

  during delivery

• Use of analgesics

  during delivery

• Mode of delivery

  during delivery

• Blood loss

  during delivery

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

A general sample of pregnant Swedish women, recruted at antenatal health care units within primary care.

You may qualify if:

• Gestational week 16 or more
• Normal routine ultrasound examination
• Mastery of Swedish language (being able to understand study information and questionnaires)

You may not qualify if:

• For extraction of medical birth records: giving birth in another Swedish region than Jämtland/Härjedalen or Örebro county, or giving birth in another country.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Mid Sweden University: lead
• Örebro University, Sweden: collaborator
• Jämtland County Council, Sweden: collaborator
• Region Örebro County: collaborator

Related Publications (13)

• Haines H, Pallant JF, Karlstrom A, Hildingsson I. Cross-cultural comparison of levels of childbirth-related fear in an Australian and Swedish sample. Midwifery. 2011 Aug;27(4):560-7. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2010.05.004. Epub 2010 Jul 3.

  PMID: 20598787 BACKGROUND

• Wijma K, Wijma B, Zar M. Psychometric aspects of the W-DEQ; a new questionnaire for the measurement of fear of childbirth. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 1998 Jun;19(2):84-97. doi: 10.3109/01674829809048501.

  PMID: 9638601 BACKGROUND

• Zigmond AS, Snaith RP. The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1983 Jun;67(6):361-70. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1983.tb09716.x.

  PMID: 6880820 BACKGROUND

• Sullivan, M.J.L., Bishop, S.R., Pivik, J. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale: Development and validation. Psychological Assessment 7: 524-532, 1995

  BACKGROUND

• Carleton RN, Gosselin P, Asmundson GJ. The intolerance of uncertainty index: replication and extension with an English sample. Psychol Assess. 2010 Jun;22(2):396-406. doi: 10.1037/a0019230.

  PMID: 20528066 BACKGROUND

• Gosselin P, Ladouceur R, Evers A, Laverdiere A, Routhier S, Tremblay-Picard M. Evaluation of intolerance of uncertainty: development and validation of a new self-report measure. J Anxiety Disord. 2008 Dec;22(8):1427-39. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.02.005. Epub 2008 Mar 2.

  PMID: 18395409 BACKGROUND

• Hebert, E. A., Dugas, M. J., Tulloch, T. G., & Holowka, D. W. (2014). Positive beliefs about worry: A psychometric evaluation of the Why Worry-II. Personality and Individual Differences, 56, 3-8.

  BACKGROUND

• Freeston, M. H., Rhéaume, J., Letarte, H., Dugas, M. J., & Ladouceur, R. (1994). Why do people worry? Personality and Individual Differences, 17(6), 791-802. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(94)90048-5

  BACKGROUND

• Sexton KA, Dugas MJ. The Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire: validation of the English translation. J Anxiety Disord. 2008;22(3):355-70. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.04.005. Epub 2007 Apr 25.

  PMID: 17544253 BACKGROUND

• Bastien CH, Vallieres A, Morin CM. Validation of the Insomnia Severity Index as an outcome measure for insomnia research. Sleep Med. 2001 Jul;2(4):297-307. doi: 10.1016/s1389-9457(00)00065-4.

  PMID: 11438246 BACKGROUND

• Diener E, Emmons RA, Larsen RJ, Griffin S. The Satisfaction With Life Scale. J Pers Assess. 1985 Feb;49(1):71-5. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13.

  PMID: 16367493 BACKGROUND

• Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Lowe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.

  PMID: 16717171 BACKGROUND

• Van den Bussche E, Crombez G, Eccleston C, Sullivan MJ. Why women prefer epidural analgesia during childbirth: the role of beliefs about epidural analgesia and pain catastrophizing. Eur J Pain. 2007 Apr;11(3):275-82. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpain.2006.03.002. Epub 2006 Apr 18.

  PMID: 16624602 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Johanna Ekdahl, PhD

  Depratment of Psychology, Mid Seden University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 19, 2017
• First Posted: November 27, 2017
• Study Start: September 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: January 1, 2018
• Study Completion: January 30, 2018
• Last Updated: November 27, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share