The Impact of Childbirth Fear on Pregnancy Complaints and Quality of Life

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the levels of childbirth fear during pregnancy, the frequency of pregnancy complaints and quality of life, and to evaluate the relationship between them. Methods: Data was collected using the Sociodemographic Information Form, the WIJMA Childbirth Expectation/Experience Scale, and the Pregnancy Complaints and Impact on Quality-of-Life Scale. To compare group differences, the t-test for independent groups, the Mann-Whitney U test, one-way ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used. Results: The study was conducted among 339 pregnant women. It was found that 15.9% of the participants had mild, 28.3% had moderate, 26.5% had severe, and 29.2% had clinical fear of childbirth. Childbirth fear was observed to increase with the frequency of miscarriages/abortion/stillbirths. The highest Impact on Quality-of-Life Scale score was observed in the third trimester and the lowest in the first trimester. The Impact on Quality-of-Life Scale score was observed to increase with decreasing age and increasing problems during pregnancy. In other occupational groups, except for housewives, civil servants, and manual workers, the Impact on Quality-of-Life Scale score was lower. It was observed that as the level of childbirth fear increased during pregnancy, the Impact on Quality-of-Life Scale scores increased. Conclusion: More than half of the pregnant women have been diagnosed with severe and clinical levels of childbirth fear. In addition, it was determined that childbirth fear exacerbates pregnancy-related complaints. Keywords: childbirth, fear, pregnancy, quality of life