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Partners of nulliparous women with severe fear of childbirth: a longitudinal 1 study of psychological well being

Ryding, E. L., Read, S. ORCID: 0000-0002-5532-8746, Rouhe, H., Halmesmäki, E., Salmela-Aro, K., Toivanen, R., Tokola, M. and Saisto, T. (2017) Partners of nulliparous women with severe fear of childbirth: a longitudinal 1 study of psychological well being. Birth. ISSN 1523-536X

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Identification Number: 10.1111/birt.12309

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the psychological status of partners of women with severe fear of childbirth (FOC). In this longitudinal study from Helsinki University Central Hospital, we investigated FOC, depression and post- traumatic stress in the partners of women with severe FOC, and possible effects of group psychoeducation and mode of birth. Methods: During pregnancy, 250 partners of nulliparous women with severe FOC participated, 93 in the intervention group and 157 in the control group. At three months postpartum 52 partners in the intervention group and 93 in the control group participated. Both the partners and the childbearing women filled in the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale mid-pregnancy as well as three months postpartum, when they also filled in the Traumatic Event Scale. Results: Partners of women with severe FOC reported less antenatal and postnatal FOC and fewer depressive symptoms than the childbearing women. No partner reached the threshold of severe FOC. No partner reported a possible post-traumatic stress disorder. Group psychoeducation with relaxation was not associated with better or worse psychological well being of the partners. An emergency cesarean section 1 was associated with a more fearful delivery experience in the partners. Conclusion: Partners of nulliparous women with severe FOC neither seem to suffer from severe FOC nor reported post-traumatic stress symptoms after childbirth. They reported better psychological well being than the mothers both during pregnancy and after delivery. An unexpected cesarean may be a negative experience even for 6 partners of childbearing women.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(IS...
Additional Information: © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Divisions: Care Policy and Evaluation Centre
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
R Medicine > RG Gynecology and obstetrics
Date Deposited: 16 Aug 2017 10:32
Last Modified: 22 Nov 2024 01:06
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/83773

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