Experiential factors associated with childbirth-related fear in Swedish women and men: a population based study

The aim of this study was to investigate and compare experiential factors associated with childbirth-related fear in women and in men. A questionnaire was completed by 410 women and 329 men who prior to the study had had a healthy baby at Umeå university hospital, Sweden. The level of fear was estimated, and twenty-nine statements designed to measure experiences and perceptions connected to childbirth and childbirth-related fear, were subjected to exploratory factor analysis. Factor scores were calculated and differences among women and men with intense and mild/moderate fear were estimated. Intense fear was reported by 23% of the women and 13% of the men. The factor analysis identified four factors explaining 52% of the variance in woman and 50% in men. The factors were named 'exposedness and inferiority', 'communicative difficulties', 'norms of harmony' and 'insecurity and danger'. The relative order of the factors varied in relation to gender, and in the women, 'exposedness and inferiority' had the greatest explanatory power, while this was true for 'communicative difficulties' in the men. Most factors were reported to a significantly higher extent by respondents with intense fear. The results are discussed from a gender perspective.