Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran.
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Midwifery. 2023 Oct;125:103790. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2023.103790. Epub 2023 Aug 10.
Pregnancy and childbirth may provoke various emotional responses in expectant fathers including excessive fear of childbirth. It is not unreasonable to assume that fear of contracting the virus during the COVID-19 pandemic, may have intensified fathers' fear of childbirth. This study aims to determine the mediating role of the expectant mothers' fear of childbirth in the relationship between expectant fathers' fear of COVID-19 and their fear of childbirth.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 270 pregnant women and their spouses attending health centers from Aug 2021 to April 2022. Fathers' fear of childbirth scale (FFCS), Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ-A), and Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) were used to collect data. To examine the relationships between variables and to develop the final model, we used the structural equation model (SEM).
The prevalence of severe fear of childbirth in fathers and their female spouses were 40.9% and 22.4%, respectively. The mean score and standard deviation of fear of childbirth in the fathers and their female spouses were 49.2 ± 17.1 and 62.5 ± 29.4, respectively. Results showed that fathers' fear of COVID-19 was directly (B = 0.44, p = 0.004) and indirectly (B = 0.13, p = 0.015) associated with fathers' fear of childbirth. Also, women's fear of childbirth was positively associated with fathers' fear of childbirth (B = 0.45, p = 0.030). In the final model, the values of χ2/df, CFI, PCFI, RMSEA, and SRMR were equal to 2.32, 0.94, 0.76, 0.07, and 0.06, respectively.
We found a high prevalence of severe fear of childbirth in Iranian expectant fathers which means that fathers' fear of childbirth is a national health concern that needs to be addressed. The findings of the present study indicate that mothers' fear of childbirth has a mediating role in the relationship between fathers' fear of COVID and fear of childbirth. Therefore, to alleviate fathers' fear of childbirth, interventions to reduce fathers' fear of COVID-19 and women's fear of childbirth should be developed and implemented. The impact of fathers' mental health on the fear of childbirth in expectant couples should be further investigated.
怀孕和分娩可能会引起准父亲的各种情绪反应，包括对分娩的过度恐惧。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，人们有理由认为，对感染病毒的恐惧可能会加剧父亲对分娩的恐惧。本研究旨在确定准母亲对分娩的恐惧在准父亲对 COVID-19 的恐惧与对分娩的恐惧之间的中介作用。
本横断面研究于 2021 年 8 月至 2022 年 4 月期间在 270 名孕妇及其配偶参加的健康中心进行。使用父亲对分娩的恐惧量表（FFCS）、Wijma 分娩期望/体验问卷（W-DEQ-A）和对 COVID-19 的恐惧量表（FCV-19S）收集数据。为了检验变量之间的关系并建立最终模型，我们使用了结构方程模型（SEM）。
父亲和其女性配偶中严重恐惧分娩的发生率分别为 40.9%和 22.4%。父亲和其女性配偶的分娩恐惧平均得分和标准差分别为 49.2±17.1 和 62.5±29.4。结果表明，父亲对 COVID-19 的恐惧与父亲对分娩的恐惧呈直接（B=0.44，p=0.004）和间接（B=0.13，p=0.015）相关。此外，女性对分娩的恐惧与父亲对分娩的恐惧呈正相关（B=0.45，p=0.030）。在最终模型中，χ2/df、CFI、PCFI、RMSEA 和 SRMR 的值分别等于 2.32、0.94、0.76、0.07 和 0.06。
我们发现伊朗准父亲中严重恐惧分娩的发生率很高，这意味着父亲对分娩的恐惧是一个需要关注的国家健康问题。本研究结果表明，母亲对分娩的恐惧在父亲对 COVID 和对分娩的恐惧之间起中介作用。因此，为了减轻父亲对分娩的恐惧，应制定和实施减少父亲对 COVID-19 的恐惧和女性对分娩的恐惧的干预措施。应进一步研究父亲的心理健康对预期夫妇中对分娩的恐惧的影响。
