ABSTRACT
Objectives: Fear of childbirth is common during pregnancy and may contribute to several adverse outcomes. We aimed to investigate childbirth fear and associated factors in a sample of pregnant Iranian women
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 525 pregnant women in Sabzevar, Iran from December 2016 to March 2017. The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaires [W-DEQ] was used to investigate fear of childbirth
Results: The mean W-DEQ score was 67.6 +/- 23.5. Of 525 women, 19.6% and 6.1% experienced moderate [mean W-DEQ score >/= 85] and severe [mean W-DEQ score >/= 100] fear of childbirth, respectively. W-DEQ scores were not different in the categories of gestational age, parity, maternal age, educational level, body mass index, and employment status [p > 0.050]. The mean score of childbirth fear was significantly higher in multiparas who preferred cesarean in comparison to those who preferred vaginal delivery [p < 0.032]. The mean score of childbirth fear was significantly higher in nulliparas with a lower family income compared to those with a higher family income [p < 0.011]. In nulliparas, predictors of moderate and severe childbirth fear were womenfs description of their present pregnancy [odds ratio [OR] = 2.600; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.323.5.112], and receiving a low level of emotional support from their husband [OR = 4.450; 95% CI: 1.349.14.674], respectively. In multiparas, predictors of childbirth fear were unwanted pregnancy [OR = 2.930; 95% CI: 1.549.3.541], experiencing moderate to severe dyspareunia in the first intercourse [OR = 2.829; 95% CI: 1.479.5.414], having a low level of physical activity [OR = 1.942; 95% CI: 1.014.3.716], and perceived a low level of health [OR = 3.415; 95% CI: 1.172.9.950]
Conclusions: We observed a relatively high prevalence of childbirth fear in pregnant women in Iran. Interventions should be implemented in high-risk women considering psychological variables
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Unwanted pregnancy imposes great psychological pressure on women.The aim of this paper is to compare quality of life of in women withwanted andunwanted pregnancy, from 3rd trimester of pregnancy to postpartum
Methods and materials: This longitudinal study was conducted in 10 urban health centers of Shahroud city, in 2010. There were 43 women with unwanted pregnancy among 358 pregnant women. In order to exclude the selection bias, all pregnant women were included in the study. Inclusion criteria were being in the third trimester of pregnancy and giving birth to a healthy baby. Exclusion criteria were fetal or infant death during the period of the study. WHO-Quality of life questionnaire was filled out in the third trimester of pregnancy and 8 weeks after delivery. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS version 18 using mann witney-u, wilcoxon, chi-square and multiple regression analysis
Results: Although there was no significant difference between the scores of QOL of women with wanted and unwanted pregnancy in third trimester of pregnancy, women with unwanted pregnancy had lower score in perceived overall health [p=0.03] and social domain [p=0.042] than wanted pregnancy group in postpartum periods. Also, means of scores of physical and social domains of QOL in women with wanted pregnancy has improved from pregnancy to postpartum while there was no change in unwanted group and even their perceived overall health declined in the postpartum [p=0.009]. Multiple regression analyses showed that unwanted pregnancy was a predictor of maternal QOL in postpartum.[]
Conclusion: Designing interventions to improve QOL of women with unwanted pregnancy is recommended
ABSTRACT
Cesarean rates in recent decades have been increasing and a number of studies have shown that cesarean increases maternal morbidities. The aim of this study is to compare the quality of life after cesarean and vaginal delivery. This prospective study was carried out on 356 pregnant women visiting urban health centers in Shahroud City, Northeast Iran, in 2011. The subjects completed the quality of life questionnaire in the third trimester of pregnancy and at 8 weeks postpartum. In primiparas, the mean global QOL scores for the cesarean and vaginal delivery groups were 67.65 +/- 12.7 and 72.12 +/- 11.8, respectively. Also, the scores for the physical, psychological and social domains of QOL as well as the global score of QOL were higher in the vaginal delivery group than the cesarean group [p<0.05]. In the case of primiparas, multiple regression analysis revealed that after adjusting for education, desirability of pregnancy and the General Health Questionnaire score, the delivery type remained as a predictor of the scores for the physical [R[2]=1.7%; B=-3.826; p=0.031; CI [-7.301, -.350]] and social [R[2]=2.5%; B=-5.708; p=0.017; CI [-10.392, -1.023]] domains of QOL and the global QOL score [R[2]=2.6%; B=-4.065; p=0.006; CI [-6.964, -1.164]]. While multiparas, there was no relationship between QOL and type of delivery. In this sample of low-risk women, cesarean negatively affected the QOL of primiparas. More studies with larger sample sizes should be conducted to examine the effects of cesarean on QOL in both primiparas and multiparas within a shorter period after delivery