Prevalence of fear of childbirth, its risk factors and birth outcomes in Australian multiparous women

Table 3 Comparison of mental health status between women with low–moderate fear of childbirth and women with high–severe fear of childbirth¹

Variable	Low–moderate FoC	High–severe FoC	Unadjusted risk ratio (95%CI)	t value (degree of freedom)	P value
FoBS-Feeling calm about the approaching birth					< 0.001
Moderately to very calm (< 50)	100/147 (68%)	23/65 (35%)	0.40 (0.3–0.6)
Moderately to very worried (≥ 50)	47/147 (32%)	42/65 (65%)	1.5 (1.2–1.9)
mean ± SD (range 0–100)	31 ± 26.3	53 ± 28.3	22.4 (14.5–30.3)3	-5.57 (210)	< 0.001
FoBS-Feeling fear about the approaching birth					< 0.001
No or mild fear (< 50)	103/147 (70%)	24/65 (37%)	0.39 (0.23–0.6)
Moderate to high fear (≥ 50)	44/147 (30%)	41/65 (63%)	1.67 (1.3–2.0)
mean ± SD (range 0–100)	30 ± 26.8	50 ± 27.5	19.8 (11.8–27.7)3	-4.91 (210)	< 0.001
DASS-Depression					0.2432
Mild to moderate (0–10)	139/143 (97%)	57/61 (93%)	0.58 (0.3–1.2)
Severe to extremely severe (≥ 11)	4/143 (3%)	4/61 (7%)	1.42 (0.7–2.9)
mean ± SD (range 0–21)	2 ± 3.5	4 ± 4.4	1.8 (0.6–2.9)3	-3.02 (202)	0.001
DASS-Anxiety					0.005
Mild to moderate (0-10)	126/143 (88%)	44/61 (72%)	0.52 (0.3–0.8)
Severe to extremely severe (≥ 11)	17/143 (12%)	17/61 (28%)	1.48 (1.1–2.1)
mean ± SD (range 0–20)	3 ± 3.6	5 ± 4.5	1.3 (0.1–2.5)3	-2.18 (202)	0.015
DASS-Stress					0.4562
Mild to moderate (0–10)	138/143 (97%)	57/61 (93%)	0.66 (0.3–1.4)
Severe to extremely severe (≥ 11)	5/143 (4%)	4/61 (7%)	1.27 (0.7–2.3)
mean ± SD (range 0–21)	4 ± 4.1	6 ± 4.9	1.8 (0.5–3.1)3	-2.75 (202)	0.003
RAS (n = 197)					0.001
Higher relationship satisfaction (≥ 4)	122/139 (88%)	39/58 (67%)	2.18 (1.4–3.3)
Less relationship satisfaction (< 4)	17/139 (12%)	19/58 (33%)	0.62 (0.4–1.0)
mean ± SD (range 2–5)	5 ± 0.7	4 ± 0.7	0.4 (0.2–0.6)3	4.45 (195)	< 0.001
FSFI (n = 198)					0.502
Normal sexual function	25/139 (18%)	8/57 (14%)	0.81 (0.4–1.5)
Sexual dysfunction	114/139 (82%)	49/57 (86%)	1.08 (0.9–1.4)
mean ± SD (range 1–34)	17 ± 9.3	16 ± 9.3	1.9 (-1.0–4.8)3	1.35 (195)	0.089
FSFI sub-groups, mean ± SD
Desire (range 1–6)	3 ± 1.1	3 ± 1.0	0.3 (-0.1–0.6)	1.66 (195)	0.105
Arousal (range (0–6)	3 ± 2.0	3 ± 1.9	0.5 (-0.1–1.1)	1.74 (195)	0.093
Lubrication (0–6)	3 ± 2.2	3 ± 2.2	0.6 (-0.1–1.3)	1.77 (195)	0.085
Orgasm (range 0–6)	3 ± 2.4	3 ± 2.2	0.7 (-0.03–1.4)	1.92 (195)	0.061
Satisfaction (range 0–6)	3 ± 1.6	3 ± 1.7	0.02 (-0.05–0.6)	0.17 (195)	0.913
Pain (range 0–6)	2 ± 2.5	2 ± 2.3	-0.2 (-1.0–0.5)	-0.54 (195)	0.558

¹Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

²Fisher’s exact test.

³Mean difference (confidence interval).

FoBS: Fear of Birth Scale; DASS: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale; RAS: Relationship Assessment Scale; FSFI: Female Sexual Function Index; FoC: Fear of childbirth.