title: Prevalence and associated factors of fear of childbirth in six European countries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study set out to compare the prevalence, content and associated factors of fear of childbirth in six European countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study of 6870 pregnant women attending routine antenatal care in Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Norway and Sweden (Bidens).
  
  
  METHODS
  Severe fear of childbirth, defined as a Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire score of ≥85.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven percent of all women reported severe fear of childbirth, 11.4% among primiparous and 11.0% among multiparous women. There were significant differences between the countries for prevalence of severe fear of childbirth, varying from 4.5% in Belgium to 15.6% in Estonia for primiparous women and from 7.6% in Iceland to 15.2% in Sweden for multiparous women. After adjusting for age, education and gestational age, only primiparous women from Belgium had significantly less fear of childbirth, AOR 0.35 (0.19-0.52) compared to Norway (largest participating group). Exploratory factor analyses revealed significant differences between the countries for the six factors extracted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FOC appears to be an international phenomenon, existing with similar proportions in the participating European countries, except for primiparous women in Belgium who in our study reported significantly less severe fear of childbirth. Our study suggests that the content of fear of childbirth may differ between countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Nutrition and Management, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway; Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: mirjam.lukasse@hioa.no.
authors.forename: Mirjam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lukasse
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St.Olav's University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schei
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Karolinska Institutet/University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Elsa Lena
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Ryding
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000523:psychology*; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010298:Parity; D036801:Parturition / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Europe; Fear of childbirth; Prevalence