Fear of childbirth: Understanding the causes, impact and treatment

This article is based on a review of the literature related to fear of childbirth, and pragmatically considers issues for midwifery practice. Research shows that around one in ten women in the developed world is affected by severe and disabling fear of childbirth during pregnancy ( Saisto and Halmesmaki, 2003 ). An important finding in the research is the significant link between fear of childbirth and caesarean section (for which the UK currently has very high rates). Fear is also associated with a negative birth experience. While personality and social factors are shown to raise the risk of severe fear of childbirth, midwives need to recognize that loss of control, misinformation and previous traumatic experiences have a serious detrimental effect on Women's perceived capacity to give birth vaginally.