Fear of childbirth among pregnant women during crises: the role of resilience and social support.

IF 2.1 4区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology Pub Date : 2025-04-07 DOI:10.1080/02646838.2025.2489545

Elad Mijalevich-Soker, Orit Taubman-Ben-Ari

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Fear of childbirth (FOC) can be significantly distressful for pregnant women, especially during a crisis. However, how FOC manifests during different types of crises has not been extensively investigated. This study aims to examine the contribution of women's perinatal characteristics, resilience, social support from their family, partners, and friends, and concern for the foetus to their FOC, and to compare their FOC in two different crisis periods: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Israel-Hamas war.

Methods: Pregnant women were recruited through social media during two periods: One hundred and ninety-one women were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 173 during the Israel-Hamas war. The participants were 20-46 years old and completed self-report questionnaires.

Results: Being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic, poorer physical health, at-risk pregnancy, and lower resilience were associated with higher FOC. Furthermore, women perceived greater support from their family and partner, higher concerns for their foetus, and higher FOC during COVID-19 than during wartime.

Conclusions: The results highlight the vulnerability of having at-risk factors such as worse physical health and at-risk pregnancy, as well as the essential role of resilience as a powerful resource in women's FOC. They uncover that FOC is a context-dependent phenomenon and may be expressed to different extents under different circumstances. Professionals working with pregnant women should consider intervention programmes to develop psychological resilience to reduce the risk of severe FOC.

查看原文本刊更多论文

危机期间孕妇对分娩的恐惧：复原力和社会支持的作用。

背景：对分娩的恐惧（FOC）对孕妇来说是非常痛苦的，尤其是在危机期间。然而，FOC在不同类型危机中的表现尚未得到广泛调查。本研究旨在研究妇女的围产期特征、复原力、家庭、伴侣和朋友的社会支持以及对胎儿的关注对其FOC的贡献，并比较她们在两个不同危机时期（COVID-19大流行和以色列-哈马斯战争）的FOC。方法：在两个时期通过社交媒体招募孕妇：在COVID-19大流行期间招募了191名妇女，在以色列-哈马斯战争期间招募了173名妇女。参与者年龄在20-46岁之间，完成自我报告问卷。结果：在COVID-19大流行期间怀孕、身体健康状况较差、高危妊娠和适应能力较低与FOC升高相关。此外，与战时相比，女性在COVID-19期间感受到来自家庭和伴侣的更多支持、对胎儿的更多关注以及更高的FOC。结论：研究结果突出了身体健康状况较差和妊娠风险等高危因素的脆弱性，以及韧性作为一种强大资源在女性FOC中的重要作用。他们发现FOC是一种情境依赖现象，在不同的环境下可能会有不同程度的表达。与孕妇一起工作的专业人员应考虑制定干预方案，以培养心理弹性，以减少严重FOC的风险。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

8.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology reports and reviews outstanding research on psychological, behavioural, medical and social aspects of human reproduction, pregnancy and infancy. Medical topics focus on obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and psychiatry. The growing work in relevant aspects of medical communication and medical sociology are also covered. Relevant psychological work includes developmental psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, behavioural medicine, psychology of women and health psychology. Research into psychological aspects of midwifery, health visiting and nursing is central to the interests of the Journal. The Journal is of special value to those concerned with interdisciplinary issues. As a result, the Journal is of particular interest to those concerned with fundamental processes in behaviour and to issues of health promotion and service organization.