Heterogeneity in childbirth related fear or anxiety
(2018) In Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 59(6). p.634-643- Abstract
Many pregnant women experience fear, worry or anxiety relating to the upcoming childbirth. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate possible subgroups in a sample of 206 pregnant women (mean age 29.4 years), reporting fear of birth in mid-pregnancy. Comparisons were made between nulliparous and parous women. In a series of cluster analyses, validated psychological instruments were used to cluster women based on their psychological profiles. A five-cluster solution was suggested, with the clusters characterized by: overall low symptom load, general high symptom load, medium symptom load with high performance-based self-esteem, blood- and injection phobic anxiety, and specific anxiety symptoms. Nulliparous women were more... (More)
Many pregnant women experience fear, worry or anxiety relating to the upcoming childbirth. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate possible subgroups in a sample of 206 pregnant women (mean age 29.4 years), reporting fear of birth in mid-pregnancy. Comparisons were made between nulliparous and parous women. In a series of cluster analyses, validated psychological instruments were used to cluster women based on their psychological profiles. A five-cluster solution was suggested, with the clusters characterized by: overall low symptom load, general high symptom load, medium symptom load with high performance-based self-esteem, blood- and injection phobic anxiety, and specific anxiety symptoms. Nulliparous women were more likely to report clinically relevant levels of blood- and injection phobia (OR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.09–6.01), while parous women more often reported previous negative experiences in health care (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.09–3.39) or previous trauma (OR 2.90, 95% CI 1.58–5.32). The results indicate that women reporting fear of birth are a heterogeneous group. In order to individualize treatment, psychological characteristics may be of greater importance than parity in identifying relevant subgroups.
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- author
- Rondung, Elisabet ; Ekdahl, Johanna ; Hildingsson, Ingegerd ; Rubertsson, Christine LU and Sundin, Örjan
- organization
- publishing date
- 2018
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Anxiety, blood- and injection phobia, childbirth, cluster analysis, fear, pregnancy
- in
- Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
- volume
- 59
- issue
- 6
- pages
- 634 - 643
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:30176051
- scopus:85053239503
- ISSN
- 0036-5564
- DOI
- 10.1111/sjop.12481
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 22506992-a0a0-43ef-bf20-dbb9086bdf4e
- date added to LUP
- 2018-10-22 14:07:36
- date last changed
- 2024-06-10 20:39:25
@article{22506992-a0a0-43ef-bf20-dbb9086bdf4e,
abstract = {{<p>Many pregnant women experience fear, worry or anxiety relating to the upcoming childbirth. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate possible subgroups in a sample of 206 pregnant women (mean age 29.4 years), reporting fear of birth in mid-pregnancy. Comparisons were made between nulliparous and parous women. In a series of cluster analyses, validated psychological instruments were used to cluster women based on their psychological profiles. A five-cluster solution was suggested, with the clusters characterized by: overall low symptom load, general high symptom load, medium symptom load with high performance-based self-esteem, blood- and injection phobic anxiety, and specific anxiety symptoms. Nulliparous women were more likely to report clinically relevant levels of blood- and injection phobia (OR = 2.57, 95% CI 1.09–6.01), while parous women more often reported previous negative experiences in health care (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.09–3.39) or previous trauma (OR 2.90, 95% CI 1.58–5.32). The results indicate that women reporting fear of birth are a heterogeneous group. In order to individualize treatment, psychological characteristics may be of greater importance than parity in identifying relevant subgroups.</p>}},
author = {{Rondung, Elisabet and Ekdahl, Johanna and Hildingsson, Ingegerd and Rubertsson, Christine and Sundin, Örjan}},
issn = {{0036-5564}},
keywords = {{Anxiety; blood- and injection phobia; childbirth; cluster analysis; fear; pregnancy}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{6}},
pages = {{634--643}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Scandinavian Journal of Psychology}},
title = {{Heterogeneity in childbirth related fear or anxiety}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12481}},
doi = {{10.1111/sjop.12481}},
volume = {{59}},
year = {{2018}},
}