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Psychologists' experiences of working with fear of childbirth: implications and advice for care providers
Mid Sweden University, Östersund.
Mid Sweden University, Östersund.
Dalarna University, School of Health and Welfare, Sexual Reproductive Perinatal Health. Uppsala University, Uppsala.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2207-9365
2024 (English)In: Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, ISSN 0264-6838, E-ISSN 1469-672X, p. 1-15Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Fear of childbirth is a common problem that affects women's health and wellbeing. A variety of interventions have been used in research and clinical settings, but it remains unclear how interventions should be designed to be as effective and acceptable as possible. Additionally, the experiences of psychologists working to support women fearing childbirth are sparsely documented and therefore unavailable for researchers and clinicians. This qualitative study aimed to bridge this gap by exploring and describing the experiences of perinatal psychologists working clinically with women suffering from fear of childbirth.

METHODS: Focus group interviews with eleven psychologists, analysed with reflexive thematic analysis with an inductive and semantic approach.

RESULTS: We identified four main themes, with three to four subthemes each. It was described as essential to meet the woman where she stands: to listen, validate, explore, and tailor interventions. Depending on the needs of each woman, the psychologists had a smorgasbord of core interventions to offer. They also described how they could help the woman and her partner or support person to prepare for childbirth. Finally, they addressed the importance of multiprofessional engagement and cooperation. A list of recommendations based on the findings is presented.

CONCLUSION: The findings add to the existing literature on how to treat and support women with fear of childbirth and should be considered as one of many sources of information guiding the development of future interventions, care strategies, and clinical pathways for women fearing childbirth.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2024. p. 1-15
Keywords [en]
Fear of childbirth, clinical experiences, interventions, psychology, qualitative research, tokophobia
National Category
Applied Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:du-49554DOI: 10.1080/02646838.2024.2415106ISI: 001331837000001PubMedID: 39404475Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85206307329OAI: oai:DiVA.org:du-49554DiVA, id: diva2:1907419
Available from: 2024-10-22 Created: 2024-10-22 Last updated: 2024-11-29Bibliographically approved

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Ternström, Elin

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

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Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
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  • vancouver
  • chicago-author-date
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  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
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  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
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Output format
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