Validation of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (Version B) Among Greek Postpartum Women

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Postnatal fear of childbirth (FOC) has a significant impact on women's mental health following childbirth. A widely employed tool for evaluating postnatal FOC is the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire version B (W-DEQ-B). This study aimed to validate the Greek version of the W-DEQ-B (GrW-DEQ-B) and confirm its reliability among Greek postpartum women having a low-risk pregnancy. <b>Methods</b>: At four weeks postpartum, 200 mothers after a low-risk pregnancy completed questionnaires, which included the GrW-DEQ-B and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). <b>Results</b>: The majority of participants had a vaginal delivery (80%), 52.0% of the sample were primigravida, and the mean gestational age at delivery was 38.8 weeks (SD = 0.8). The exploratory factor analysis yielded six factors ("Lack of self-efficacy", "Lack of positive anticipation", "Lack of feeling lonely", "Concerns about delivery and losing control", "Calmness", and "Concern for the child") of 33 items from the W-DEQ-B. The instrument's multidimensionality was verified by the confirmatory factor analysis (RMSEA = 0.07; CFI = 0.90; TLI = 0.88). All Cronbach's alphas were over 0.7, indicating acceptable reliability of the factors. Almost all factors of the GrW-DEQ-B were significantly correlated with each other (<i>p</i> < 0.001), demonstrating the convergent validity of the tool. Significant correlations were found between almost all dimensions of the GrW-DEQ-B and the EPDS (<i>p</i> < 0.001), indicating the divergent validity of the tool. <b>Conclusions</b>: This study provides evidence that the Greek version of the W-DEQ-B proved to be a reliable and valid measure of FOC among Greek postpartum women.

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Publication Details

Journal
Healthcare
Published
2025-04-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13080896
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.88

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article

Validation of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (Version B) Among Greek Postpartum Women

Άννα Δελτσίδου, Victoria Vivilaki, Ioannis M. Zervas, Pinelopi Varela et al.
1 citations
Healthcare
Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
1.88
article

Validation of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (Version B) Among Greek Postpartum Women

Άννα Δελτσίδου, Victoria Vivilaki, Ioannis M. Zervas, Pinelopi Varela, Aikaterini Lykeridou, Christina Nanou
article en
1 citations

Abstract

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Postnatal fear of childbirth (FOC) has a significant impact on women's mental health following childbirth. A widely employed tool for evaluating postnatal FOC is the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire version B (W-DEQ-B). This study aimed to validate the Greek version of the W-DEQ-B (GrW-DEQ-B) and confirm its reliability among Greek postpartum women having a low-risk pregnancy. <b>Methods</b>: At four weeks postpartum, 200 mothers after a low-risk pregnancy completed questionnaires, which included the GrW-DEQ-B and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). <b>Results</b>: The majority of participants had a vaginal delivery (80%), 52.0% of the sample were primigravida, and the mean gestational age at delivery was 38.8 weeks (SD = 0.8). The exploratory factor analysis yielded six factors ("Lack of self-efficacy", "Lack of positive anticipation", "Lack of feeling lonely", "Concerns about delivery and losing control", "Calmness", and "Concern for the child") of 33 items from the W-DEQ-B. The instrument's multidimensionality was verified by the confirmatory factor analysis (RMSEA = 0.07; CFI = 0.90; TLI = 0.88). All Cronbach's alphas were over 0.7, indicating acceptable reliability of the factors. Almost all factors of the GrW-DEQ-B were significantly correlated with each other (<i>p</i> < 0.001), demonstrating the convergent validity of the tool. Significant correlations were found between almost all dimensions of the GrW-DEQ-B and the EPDS (<i>p</i> < 0.001), indicating the divergent validity of the tool. <b>Conclusions</b>: This study provides evidence that the Greek version of the W-DEQ-B proved to be a reliable and valid measure of FOC among Greek postpartum women.

HealthcareVol. 13(8)
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR), University of West Attica (GR), Alexandra Hospital (GR), Eginition Hospital (GR)
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
1.88
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