Fear of childbirth during pregnancy: a study of more than 8000 pregnant women.

In today's modern obstetrics, perinatal morbidity and mortality of mother and neonate have become extremely rare. Despite these advances, are pregnant women still afraid of childbearing and, if so, what--and how intense--are their fears? Are these fears influenced by previous birthing experiences and by birth preparation classes? Data from more than 8000 expectant mothers (collated via a prenatal questionnaire distributed between November 1, 1991 and October 31, 1999) are evaluated. This study examines and discusses the answers concerning quantity and quality of childbirth-related fear among women of differing parity and its possible relation to attended birth preparation classes. The women delivered in a hospital setting that practices modern obstetrics combined with alternative delivery methods. The most frequent fears mentioned are fear for the child's health (50%) and fear of pain (40%). Fears dealing with medical intervention, such as operative delivery, anesthesia, nerve blockage and of being at the mercy of obstetrics all lie at around 12%. It is difficult to establish a clear-cut benefit of birth preparation classes in reducing childbirth fears.