Fear of Birth: An Increasing Fear in Pregnancy During the COVID-19 Period

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The inadequate prenatal and postnatal services due to the deployment of health services to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) related arrangements has led to an increased number of patients experiencing a fear of contracting COVID-19 in addition to their fear of childbirth. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and the fear of childbirth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was designed in descriptive and correlational types. Three hundred forty-three pregnant women included in the study using descriptive and correlational methods were evaluated using the COVID-19 Fear Scale (CFS) and the Fear of Birth Scale (FOBS) for Pregnant Women. RESULTS: The mean age of the pregnant women participating in the study was 29.07 +/- 5.90 years and the mean gestational week was 35.51 +/- 2.70 weeks. It was observed that pregnant women had more fear of COVID-19 (19.69 +/- 7.63) due to the fear of contracting the virus during the pandemic period, and as a result, the participants experienced a fear of birth (64.25 +/- 29.30). It was observed that there was a significant, positive, and moderate relationship between CFS and FOBS in the pregnant women (p<0.001). It was found that 15.8% of the development of fear of birth is due to a fear of COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals can use practical scales to assess pregnancy and COVID-19 fears.