Section 1 :Literature Review This review explores the recent research on the nature of fear of childbirth with a focus on methods of assessmen.t and psychological intervention. Using defined criteria, thirty-five articles were identified for review. Fear of childbirth was shown to have implications for the emotional well being of women both in the antenatal and postnatal period. A number of personal and social factors were reported to influence fear. Fear of childbirth was found to be a distinct dimension of anxiety and therefore measures of general anxiety lack validity. Studies investigating the impact of psychological interventions to treat childbirth fear show initial promise however methodological flaws limit conclusions. Findings are explored in relation to implications for women in the UK. Section 2: Research Report The expectations of childbirth that women develop during pregnancy are reported to influence the actual experience of childbirth. Existing measures of childbirth expectations have limited robustness and cultural validity for pregnant women in the UK. The aim of this study was to develop a reliable and valid English-language based scale to measure pregnant women's expectations of childbirth. Items were generated via exploratory interviews with members of the target population. An initial version of the scale was developed and piloted with a large sample of pregnant women. Questionnaire data was subjected to item analysis and principal components analysis revealed six underlying factors. A final version of the scale was developed and initial assessment of internal reliability and validity were carried out.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:505336 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Pais, Tara |
| Publisher | University of Sheffield |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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