Validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the "Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire" (W-DEQ-B).

The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ-B) is an instrument that allows the experiences around fear of childbirth to be examined after the birth. It is currently the most widely used to measure different aspects related to the fear of childbirth and enables healthcare and additional assistance to women after birth to be adapted according to their needs. The objective of this study was to translate the W-DEQ-B into Spanish and analyse its reliability and validity. The study was carried out in two phases: (1) transcultural adaption of the questionnaire to Spanish and (2) a transversal study in a sample of 190 postpartum women from Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinics in the province of Barcelona (Spain). The psychometric properties were examined in terms of reliability (internal consistency and temporal stability) and construct validity (confirmatory factorial analysis [CFA] and exploratory factorial analysis [EFA]). The results of the CFA did not confirm unidimensionality of the W-DEQ-B questionnaire. The EFA suggested four very similar, but not identical, dimensions to those obtained in other studies in which the W-DEQ-B has been evaluated. Both the Cronbach's alpha and the omega coefficient were adequate for the total questionnaire and for each of the four dimensions. The results of this study confirm that the W-DEQ-B is multi-dimensional. In the Spanish version of the W-DEQ-B-Sp four dimensions have been identified that allow the experiences around fear of childbirth to be examined after the birth. The Spanish version of the WDEQ-B (WDEQ-B-Sp) is reliable and valid for the measurement of fear of childbirth in clinical practice and for use in future research.

Reliability and validity study of the Spanish adaptation of the "Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire" (W-DEQ-A).

The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ-A) is an instrument that evaluates fear of childbirth through the expectations of women in relation to childbirth and their experience during the birth. The objective of this study was to translate the W-DEQ-A into Spanish and analyse its reliability and validity. The study was carried out in two phases: (1) adapting the questionnaire to Spanish and (2) a transversal study in a sample of 273 pregnant women in the Sexual and Reproductive Health centres in the Metropolitan Northern Barcelona in Catalonia (Spain). The psychometric properties were analysed in terms of reliability and construct validity. The confirmatory factorial analysis did not confirm the unidimensionality of the original structure of the WDEQ-A, as happened with the other studies in which it has previously been validated. The result of the exploratory factorial analysis suggests four factors, or dimensions, very similar but not identical to those obtained in other analysis studies of the W-DEQ-A. The Cronbach alpha and the omega scale were also adequate for all the scales and for each of the dimensions. The results of this study confirm the findings of other studies that suggest that the W-DEQ-A is multi-dimensional. In the Spanish version of the W-DEQ-A four dimensions have been identified to explore fear of childbirth in pregnant women. The Spanish version of the WDEQ-A (WDEQ-A-Sp) is reliable and valid for the measurement of fear of childbirth in clinical practice and for use in future research.