Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29329526›Full record

SynthesisBMC pregnancy and childbirth2018

Definitions, measurements and prevalence of fear of childbirth: a systematic review.

C Nilsson, E Hessman, H Sjöblom, A Dencker, E Jangsten, M Mollberg, H Patel, C Sparud-Lundin, H Wigert, C Begley

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06257186 (Investigating the Effect of Art Therapy on Women With Fear of Childbirth During Pregnancy), which is not on this map. Cited by 158 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
158citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
23.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06257186 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Investigating the Effect of Art Therapy on Women With Fear of Childbirth During Pregnancy: A Mixed Method Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorKK Women's and Children's HospitalRan2023 to 2024Enrolled100ConditionsFear of Childbirth, Pregnancy Related, Anxiety and Fear, AnxietyArmsArt Therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

158 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 391 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Interventions for fear of childbirth including tocophobia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021
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  10. Women's experiences of fear of childbirth: a metasynthesis of qualitative studies.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2020
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98 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

C NilssonFaculty of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare, University of Borås, S-501 90, Borås, Sweden. christina.nilsson@hb.se.ORCID 0000-0002-3195-5702
E HessmanBiomedical Library, Gothenburg University Library at University of Gothenburg, Box 416, -405 30, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden.
H SjöblomBiomedical Library, Gothenburg University Library at University of Gothenburg, Box 416, -405 30, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden.
A DenckerInstitute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Box 457, -405 30, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden.
E JangstenInstitute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Box 457, -405 30, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden.
M MollbergInstitute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Box 457, -405 30, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden.
H PatelInstitute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Box 457, -405 30, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden.
C Sparud-LundinInstitute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Box 457, -405 30, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden.
H WigertInstitute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Box 457, -405 30, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden.
C BegleyInstitute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Box 457, -405 30, Gothenburg, SE, Sweden.
University of Gothenburg · SETrinity College Dublin · IE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFear of Childbirth (FOC) is a common problem affecting women's health and wellbeing, and a common reason for requesting caesarean section. The aims of this review were to summarise published research on prevalence of FOC in childbearing women and how it is defined and measured during pregnancy and postpartum, and to search for useful measures of FOC, for research as well as for clinical settings.

methodsFive bibliographic databases in March 2015 were searched for published research on FOC, using a protocol agreed a priori. The quality of selected studies was assessed independently by pairs of authors. Prevalence data, definitions and methods of measurement were extracted independently from each included study by pairs of authors. Finally, some of the country rates were combined and compared.

resultsIn total, 12,188 citations were identified and screened by title and abstract; 11,698 were excluded and full-text of 490 assessed for analysis. Of these, 466 were excluded leaving 24 papers included in the review, presenting prevalence of FOC from nine countries in Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. Various definitions and measurements of FOC were used. The most frequently-used scale was the W-DEQ with various cut-off points describing moderate, severe/intense and extreme/phobic fear. Different 3-, 4-, and 5/6 point scales and visual analogue scales were also used. Country rates (as measured by seven studies using W-DEQ with ≥85 cut-off point) varied from 6.3 to 14.8%, a significant difference (chi-square = 104.44, d.f. = 6, p < 0.0001).

conclusionsRates of severe FOC, measured in the same way, varied in different countries. Reasons why FOC might differ are unknown, and further research is necessary. Future studies on FOC should use the W-DEQ tool with a cut-off point of ≥85, or a more thoroughly tested version of the FOBS scale, or a three-point scale measurement of FOC using a single question as 'Are you afraid about the birth?' In this way, valid comparisons in research can be made. Moreover, validation of a clinical tool that is more focussed on FOC alone, and easier than the longer W-DEQ, for women to fill in and clinicians to administer, is required.

Indexed as

FearFemaleHumansParturitionPhobic DisordersPostpartum PeriodPregnancyPregnancy ComplicationsPregnant PeoplePrevalenceFear of childbirthFOBSPrevalenceRequest for caesarean sectionSystematic reviewW-DEQ

Identifiers

PMID29329526
PMCPMC5766978
OpenAlexW2782548796

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.