Preconception fear of childbirth: experiences and needs of women fearing childbirth before first pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Although early case studies have indicated that fear of childbirth can predate a woman's first pregnancy, the concept of preconception fear of childbirth is largely unexplored. The few studies reporting on the prevalence of preconception fear of childbirth found higher levels than most prevalence estimates in pregnant populations. However, little is known about women's fear of childbirth before becoming pregnant. The aim of this qualitative study was to give voice to the experiences of this often-neglected group of women. METHODS: To address the experiences and needs of women who do not dare become pregnant due to fear of childbirth, we conducted nine qualitative interviews and analyzed these using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: The women perceived childbirth as an extremely risky event and doubted their abilities to cope with it. With increasing age, the fear became more real. It was associated with thoughts of becoming too old to be able to conceive. The women did their best to cope with fear on their own by seeking information, trying not to think about it, and using multiple strategies to avoid becoming pregnant. Despite expressing a strong wish for professional support, they all described very limited opportunities to receive support from maternal care services. They felt abandoned, left on their own in a stressful and constantly ongoing negotiation with themselves, feeling the pressure to decide whether to dare become pregnant or not. CONCLUSION: In this study, women expressed having experienced fear of childbirth long before a first pregnancy. They felt abandoned as they had to deal with their fear by themselves, without support from maternal care services. The results point to the necessity of an increased awareness of preconception fear of childbirth. We encourage maternal care services to consider their opportunities to support these women.

Behavioural activation versus mindfulness-based guided self-help treatment administered through a smartphone application: a randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Evaluating and comparing the effectiveness of two smartphone-delivered treatments: one based on behavioural activation (BA) and other on mindfulness. DESIGN: Parallel randomised controlled, open, trial. Participants were allocated using an online randomisation tool, handled by an independent person who was separate from the staff conducting the study. SETTING: General community, with recruitment nationally through mass media and advertisements. PARTICIPANTS: 40 participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder received a BA treatment, and 41 participants received a mindfulness treatment. 9 participants were lost at the post-treatment. INTERVENTION BA: An 8-week long behaviour programme administered via a smartphone application. Mindfulness: An 8-week long mindfulness programme, administered via a smartphone application. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-9). RESULTS: 81 participants were randomised (mean age 36.0 years (SD=10.8)) and analysed. Results showed no significant interaction effects of group and time on any of the outcome measures either from pretreatment to post-treatment or from pretreatment to the 6-month follow-up. Subgroup analyses showed that the BA treatment was more effective than the mindfulness treatment among participants with higher initial severity of depression from pretreatment to the 6-month follow-up (PHQ-9: F (1, 362.1)=5.2, p<0.05). In contrast, the mindfulness treatment worked better than the BA treatment among participants with lower initial severity from pretreatment to the 6-month follow-up (PHQ-9: F (1, 69.3)=7.7, p<0.01); BDI-II: (F(1, 53.60)=6.25, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The two interventions did not differ significantly from one another. For participants with higher severity of depression, the treatment based on BA was superior to the treatment based on mindfulness. For participants with lower initial severity, the treatment based on mindfulness worked significantly better than the treatment based on BA. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT01463020.