What is the authentic underlying reason of childbirth worries in Turkish population?: An observational study

Abstract

This study aims to determine women’s childbirth worries during antenatal. The research was carried out with 532 pregnant women in the antenatal clinic in Turkey as an observational study. Sociodemographic characteristics and scores of the Oxford Worries about Labor Scale of pregnant women were evaluated quantitatively. In addition, the answers given by the pregnant women to the open-ended question were themed. Although working status and receiving antenatal education reduce the fear of childbirth, birth scenes/stories on TV or social media, birth stories in the pregnant women’s friends/family, being stressed in daily life, and dysmenorrhea increase the worries about childbirth (WaC). In addition, primiparas experience more WaC than multiparas. The reasons for WaC in pregnant women were classified as birth pain, artificial pain, cesarean section/receiving anesthesia, intervention/examination, pandemic, people’s thoughts/experiences, birth process/insufficiency in birth, hospital/staff, fears about the baby, complications/death, and ignorance of the birth process. The results of this study reveal that WaC is a pivotal issue for pregnant women, for which managing the labor process, labor pain and labor fear is important. The stipulation of support for pregnant women is essential to enhance labor outcomes.