Prevalence of Fear of Childbirth and its Effective Factors in Pregnant Women in Babol, Iran (2019- 2020): A Cross-sectional Study

Objectives: Fear of childbirth may be associated with increased anxiety, cesarean section, and delayed delivery. The study aimed to screen for fear of childbirth and the factors affecting it in pregnant women from 2019 to 2020 in Babol, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 600 pregnant women with gestation age > 20 weeks referred to antenatal care clinics of Ayatollah Rouhani, Shahid Yahya Nejad Hospital, four health centers, and three private offices of obstetricians in Babol, Iran from 2019 to 2020 were surveyed using the Wijma Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire. Considering the cut-off point of 85, women with severe fear of childbirth were identified. Results: The fear of childbirth prevalence in pregnant women in this study was 29.2% (175/600). Fear of childbirth in women with postgraduate education was 3.27 times higher than in women with undergraduate education (P<0.001). Pregnancy fears were 0.42 times higher in pregnant women with self-employed spouses than in employee spouses (P<0.001). Also, women with a history of infertility were 2.73 times more likely to fear childbirth than women without a history of infertility (P=0.01). Women with a history of psychiatric disorders were 6.86 times more afraid of childbirth than women without a history of psychiatric disorders (P=0.02). Conclusions: Due to the high prevalence of fear of childbirth in pregnant women in Babol, Iran, the need for particular psychological interventions to reduce the fear of childbirth and identify risk factors is suggested.