Obstetrics & Gynecology Email Alerts
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Obstetrics & Gynecology 2006;108:70-76
© 2006 by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Poikkeus, P.
Right arrow Articles by Tulppala, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Poikkeus, P.
Right arrow Articles by Tulppala, M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Infertility including ART
Right arrow Obstetric complications of pregnancy
Right arrow Psychology/psychiatry

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Fear of Childbirth and Pregnancy-Related Anxiety in Women Conceiving With Assisted Reproduction

P. Poikkeus, MD1, T. Saisto, MD, PhD2, L. Unkila-Kallio, MD, PhD1, R.-L. Punamaki, PhD3, L. Repokari, MD4, S. Vilska, MD5, A. Tiitinen, MD, PhD1 and M. Tulppala, MD, PhD1

From the 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Helsinki University Central Hospital; 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jorvi Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital; 3Department of Psychology, University of Tampere; 4Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital; and 5Infertility Clinic, the Family Federation of Finland, Helsinki, Finland.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence and predictors of severe fear of childbirth and pregnancy-related anxiety in groups of assisted reproduction treatment (ART) and spontaneously conceiving women with singleton pregnancies.

METHODS: The ART group (n = 367, nulliparous 260) represented a cohort from five Finnish infertility clinics in 1999. The control group (n = 379, nulliparous 135) was enrolled in this study by consecutive sampling the same year. Fear of childbirth was assessed by means of the revised version of the Fear-of-Childbirth Questionnaire and pregnancy-related anxiety by means of the Pregnancy Anxiety Scale at gestational week 20 ± 3.2 (mean±standard deviation).

RESULTS: The frequency of severe fear of childbirth and anxiety (classified as total scores in the 90th percentile or higher in the revised Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire and Pregnancy Anxiety Scale) did not differ between the groups. Nulliparity was associated with more frequent severe anxiety only in the controls. In nulliparous participants, a partnership of more than 5 years decreased the risk of severe fear of childbirth (odds ratio 0.3, 95% confidence interval 0.2–0.7). In the nulliparous ART group, a long duration of infertility (7 or more years) increased the risk of severe fear of childbirth (odds ratio 4.4, 95% confidence interval 1.2–16.9).

CONCLUSION: Women conceiving after ART do not experience severe fear of childbirth or pregnancy-related axiety more often than spontaneously conceiving controls. However, a long duration of infertility is an independent risk factor regarding severe fear of childbirth.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.