The aim of this study is to examine the effect of traumatic birth perception and fear of childbirth on the intention to undergo cesarean delivery in primiparous women. The study is a descriptive cross-sectional. The study was conducted between April and July 2025 with 311 primiparous pregnant women. Data were collected using the “Information Form,” “Traumatic Birth Perception Scale,” “Wijma Birth Expectation/Experience Scale,” and “Cesarean Intention Scale.” The average score for pregnant women on the Traumatic Birth Perception Scale is 126.70 ± 5.80, indicating that their perception of traumatic birth is very high. The average score for pregnant women on the Wijma Childbirth Expectancy/Experience Scale is 77.20 ± 11.98. Pregnant women experience moderate levels of fear of childbirth. The average score for the “Cesarean Intention Scale” among pregnant women is 38.76 ± 6.13. When examining the correlation analysis between scale scores, a positive and significant relationship was found between the Wijma Childbirth Expectancy/Experience Scale and the Cesarean Intention Scale (rs = 0.533; p < 0.001). As pregnant women’s fear of childbirth increased, their positive attitude toward cesarean delivery also increased. This study found that pregnant women have high levels of fear of childbirth and that fear of childbirth has a significant and positive effect on the intention to undergo a cesarean section. The findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing fear of childbirth during pregnancy may be important in reducing cesarean section rates.
Uncu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.