Maternal performing birth act and fathers accompanied by birth anxiety levels

Starting from the gestation period, parents may feel worried about the birth and care processes for various reasons. As the level of worry increases, parents have difficulty in meeting the care needs of their children. Objective: The study was conducted as a descriptive study to determine the level of worry of the delivering mothers and the fathers accompanying the delivery. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted between the dates of May 2nd, 2016 and August 2nd, 2016 in a private clinic in Istanbul. The research population consisted of 58 mothers and 58 fathers who applied to the clinic. No selection was made in the sample. This study was conducted with 50 mothers and 50 fathers who agreed to participate in the survey. The data were collected using a questionnaire form and the Cambridge Worry Scale, upon obtaining the approval of the institution and the approval of the ethics committee. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 software. Findings: It was found that 44% of the mothers participating in the study were in the age of 26-30 years, 40% of the fathers were in the age range of 31-35, the majority of the parents were university graduates, 80% of the mothers were employed, 58% had been married for 1 to 5 years, and 38% had a moderate economic level. It was observed that 58% of mothers were experiencing their first pregnancy, half of the parents had received prenatal education, and almost all of the participants felt ready to become a parent. It was found that families with low income levels had an average of 9,18 worry scores, that they had more anxiety than families with higher incomes, with a statistically significant difference between them (p <0.05). Parents who received prenatal education had a lower mean of worry scores than those who did not receive education and the difference was statistically significant (p <0.05). Conclusion: When the parents' worry scores were examined, it was found that the average of worry scores increased as the monthly income decreased, while it decreased with the presence of prenatal education. Mothers appeared to be most worried about being pregnant again in a short while and their babies' health, while fathers appeared to be most worried about financial problems.