Comparison of childbirth experience and fear of childbirth in mothers with full-term and full-term deliveries referred to Taleghani, Al-Zahra and 29 Bahman hospitals in Tabriz: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background: The occurrence of premature birth can lead to the failure to achieve the mother's previous expectations about the birth process and as a result lead to a negative perception of birth. The positive experience of childbirth leads to a bond between mother and child, and this bond causes a higher rate of breastfeeding, responsibility and independence of the mother. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare the experience of childbirth and the fear of childbirth in mothers with pre-term and full-term deliveries referred to Taleghani, Al-Zahra and 29 Bahman hospitals in Tabriz. Materials and methods: The present study is a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study on eligible mothers with term birth (314 women) and preterm birth (157 women) referring to Taleghani, Al-Zahra and 29 Bahman hospitals in Tabriz. Sampling was done by convenience method. Demographic and obstetrics checklists, delivery fear scale (DFS) during labour and Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2.0 (CEQ 2.0) were completed 12 to 24 hours after birth. In addition to the CEQ questionnaire, the women in the preterm birth group also completed the Preterm Birth Experiences and Satisfaction Scale (P-BESS) questionnaire. Also, the father's fear of childbirth questionnaire was completed. Data were analyzed, using Version 24.0 software for Windows. Independent t-test was used to compare the experience of childbirth in women and the fear of childbirth in women and their husbands with full-term and preterm births in univariate analysis. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between childbirth experience and fear of childbirth in univariate analysis due to the non-normality of the distribution and in the multivariate analysis, the general linear model was used with the adjustment of socio-demographic and obstetrics characteristics. Findings: The prevalence of negative birth experience in term and preterm birth groups was 31.8% and 14.3%, respectively. The results of the independent t-test showed that the mean (standard deviation) of the overall score of childbirth experience in the term group 3.0 (0.4) was statistically significantly higher than the pre-term group 2.7 (0.5) (p< 0.001). The mean (standard deviation) of the fear of childbirth score in the pre-term group 35.1 (14.5) was statistically significantly higher than the 3.30 (14.3) group (P<0.001). The results of the multivariate general linear model, after adjusting the socio-demographic and obstetrics characteristics that had p < 0.1 in the univariate analysis, showed that there is no statistically significant difference between the two groups of mothers with term and preterm birth in terms of birth experience [Odds Ratio= 0.06; 95% Confidence Interval= (-0.22 to 0.09); p= 0.414]. However, fear of childbirth had a statistically significant relationship with childbirth experience, and with the increase of fear of childbirth, the score of childbirth experience decreased [OR= 0.02]; 95% CI= 0.03 to 0.01; p< 0.001]. The results of the multivariate general linear model, showed that in terms of the fear of childbirth in the spouses of the participating women, there was a statistical difference between the term and pre-term groups [OR= 0.64; 95% CI= -2.67 to 3.96; p= 0.702]. Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference in terms of childbirth experience and fear of childbirth between mothers and fear of childbirth in the spouses of women with term and pre-term birth. Fear of childbirth was a predictor of birth experience. Therefore, in order to improve women's birth experience, interventions should be made to reduce women's fear.