Investigation of childbirth fear-prior to pregnancy in nursing students who have taken or did not take obstetrics and gynecology nursing courses

The object of this study is to examine the childbirth fear prior to pregnancy and the factors affecting this in nursing students who have taken or did not take obstetrics and gynecology nursing courses. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out with 332 nursing students studying in Nursing Department of Faculty of Health Sciences at Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University between 15.12.2019 and 15.02.2020. In the research, a Student Information Form and Childbirth Fear – Prior to Pregnancy Scale (Female-Male) were used as a data collection tool. The research data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 program, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. In the study, the total score average of the Childbirth Fear – Prior to Pregnancy Scale (WCF-PPS) was found to be 41.63 ± 9.49 for the female students and the total score average of the MCF-PPS was 37.17 ± 8.99 for the male students. According to the students' status of taking obstetrics and gynecology nursing courses, it was determined that the total scores of the Childbirth Fear – Prior to Pregnancy Scale did not differ statistically (p>0.05), whereas the total score average of Childbirth Fear – Prior to Pregnancy Scale was higher for female students who experienced difficulty in clinical practice of the course (p<0.05). The total score averages of the Childbirth Fear – Prior to Pregnancy Scale for both female and male students were determined not to differ significantly according to the socio-demographic characteristics of the students (p>0.05). According to the students' status of taking obstetrics and gynecology nursing courses, the score averages of the 10 expressions in the Childbirth Fear – Prior to Pregnancy Scale were determined not to show statistically significant difference for female students (p>0.05), whereas the score averages of the expressions focusing on the status of "spousal birth pain and ability not to cope with birth" for male students were found to be significantly higher in male students who took the course (p<0.05). As a result of this research, it is concluded that nursing students experience childbirth fear of at a level of above the medium level, their negative experiences in the clinical practice of the course is a factor that may trigger childbirth fear, especially for female students, and that the perception and future anxieties for women in male students may be a risk factor for childbirth fear.