Investigating the Effects of Midwife-Oriented Education and Counseling on the Type and Consequences of Childbirth in First-Time Pregnant Women with Fear of Childbirth

Fear of childbirth is one of the major problems during pregnancy and the post-partum period that affects women’s health and preference for cesarean birth.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of midwife-oriented education and counseling on the type and consequences of childbirth in first-time pregnant women with fear of childbirth.

The present study is a single-blind randomized controlled trial performed on 122 first-time pregnant women with fear of childbirth. The samples were selected by the convenient sampling method and divided into two intervention and control groups by the four-blocked randomization method. Data collection tools were a demographic questionnaire and the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (WDEQ; version A before childbirth and version B after childbirth). The intervention was performed in the form of six counseling sessions based on the Gamble approach. The data were analyzed at a significance level of 0.05 using SPSS 21 statistical software.

Regarding the effect of midwife-oriented counseling on pre-partum and post-partum fear, no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups. The rate of choosing vaginal birth in the intervention group significantly increased after receiving counseling (p = 0.001). The frequency of vaginal birth, childbirth satisfaction, and childbirth consequences was not statistically significant between the two groups.

The present counseling method can be effective in increasing choosing vaginal birth in first-time pregnant women with fear of childbirth, but further research is required to evaluate its effectiveness on the maternal and neonatal consequences.