ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Screening for Perinatal Anxiety Using the Childbirth Fear Questionnaire: A New Measure of Fear of Childbirth.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- The psychometric properties of fear of childbirth instruments: a systematic review.Reproductive health · 2024Pooled it
- Digital intervention for tokophobia: a randomized controlled trial of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy on fear of childbirth and self-efficacy among Egyptian pregnant women.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Trial
- Psychometric and clinical validation of the fear of childbirth questionnaire in a UK population.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Exploring Women's Experiences of Art Therapy for Fear of Childbirth During Pregnancy in Singapore: A Qualitative Study.International journal of women's health · 2026Article
- Convergent validity between two questionnaires that evaluate fear of childbirth validated in spanish: childbirth fear questionnaire (CFQ-e) and Wijma delivery expectancy questionnaire (WDEQ-A-Sp).BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Development and validation of a multidimensional mental health screening questionnaire for pregnant women: A preliminary report.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Article
- The role of maternal age, education, birth experience and self-esteem in shaping anxiety before first postpartum intercourse.Frontiers in public health · 2025Observational
- Article
- Trajectories of Maternal and Paternal Internalizing Symptoms from Pregnancy to 2 Years Postpartum: Identifying Modifiable Risk and Protective Factors.Depression and anxiety · 2024Article
- The Childbirth Fear Questionnaire and the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire as Screening Tools for Specific Phobia, Fear of Childbirth.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Validation and Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire (CFQ-e).Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Validation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Childbirth Fear Questionnaire Among Jordanian Women.SAGE open nursingArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Fear of childbirth affects as many as 20% of pregnant people, and has been associated with pregnancy termination, prolonged labour, increased risk of emergency and elective caesarean delivery, poor maternal mental health, and poor maternal-infant bonding. Currently available measures of fear of childbirth fail to fully capture pregnant people's childbirth-related fears. The purpose of this research was to develop a new measure of fear of childbirth (the Childbirth Fear Questionnaire; CFQ) that would address the limitations of existing measures. The CFQ's psychometric properties were evaluated through two studies. Participants for Study 1 were 643 pregnant people residing in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, with a mean age of 29.0 (SD = 5.1) years, and 881 pregnant people residing in Canada, with a mean age of 32.9 (SD = 4.3) years for Study 2. In both studies, participants completed a set of questionnaires, including the CFQ, via an online survey. Exploratory factor analysis in Study 1 resulted in a 40-item, 9-factor scale, which was well supported in Study 2. Both studies provided evidence of high internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity. Study 1 also provided evidence that the CFQ detects group differences between pregnant people across mode of delivery preference and parity. Study 2 added to findings from Study 1 by providing evidence for the dimensional structure of the construct of fear of childbirth, and measurement invariance across parity groups (i.e., the measurement model of the CFQ was generalizable across parity groups). Estimates of the psychometric properties of the CFQ across the two studies provided evidence that the CFQ is psychometrically sound, and currently the most comprehensive measure of fear of childbirth available. The CFQ covers a broad range of domains of fear of childbirth and can serve to identify specific fear domains to be targeted in treatment.
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