Comparison of the fear of childbirth and anxiety levels adolescent and adult pregnant women

Objective: This research was planned to compare the fear of childbirth and anxiety levels of adolescent pregnant women and adult pregnant women. Materials and Methods: The population of this descriptive and cross-sectional study (September 1, 2018 - November 31, 2018) consisted of pregnant women who applied to the Gynecology and Obstetrics Polyclinic at Çorum Hitit University Erol Olçok Training and Research Hospital. The sample consists of pregnant adolescents between the ages of 15-19 and adult pregnant women between the ages of 20-35. In the research, there were 62 adolescent and 62 adult pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria, had no risk during pregnancy, agreed to participate in the study, did not have a disease that would prevent participation in the study, had the capacity to read and understand Turkish, and were in the 3rd trimester. The "Introductory Information Form" prepared by the researcher for this study was used in both groups. After filling out the form, which included data on the pregnant women's physical characteristics, sociodemographic characteristics and obstetric characteristics, the "Wijma Birth Expectation/Experience Version A Scale" was used to determine the birth fear levels of the pregnant women. "Beck Anxiety Scale" was used to determine the level of anxiety in pregnant women. The forms and surveys were filled out by face-to-face interview method. 'SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) for Windows 20.0' software program was used to analyze the data. Statistical significance level was taken as p<0.05. Findings: Physical characteristics such as age, pre-pregnancy and pregnancy body weight; sociodemographic characteristics such as education level, employment status, family type and economic status, and some obstetric characteristics (gestational age, miscarriage in previous pregnancies and pregnancy success) were found to be significantly different (p<0.05). The total average of Wijma-A Birth Expectation/Experience Scale scores of pregnant women was calculated as 49.88±22.53 and it was determined that the pregnant women's fear of birth was at a medium level. The mean Wijma-A total score was 50.73±21.33 in adolescent pregnant women and 49.03±23.82 in adult pregnant women, and the groups were found to be similar in terms of fear of birth (p>0,05). The distribution of pregnant women's fear of birth levels was as following: 25.8% of adolescent pregnant women have low levels, 54.8% have moderate levels, 16.1% have severe fears, and 3.2% have clinical levels; It was determined that 33.9% of adult pregnant women had a low fear level, 44.5% had a moderate fear of birth, 14.5% had a severe fear of birth, and 8.1% had a clinical fear of birth. The total mean of the Beck Anxiety Scale scores of all pregnants was 10.61±8.01, and it was observed that the pregnant women had mild anxiety. The anxiety level mean score was 10.90±8.82 in adolescent pregnant women and 10.30±7.17 in adult pregnant women. It was determined that the Beck Anxiety Scale total scores of pregnant women did not show a significant difference between age groups (p>0.05). As a result of the correlation analysis, a positive relationship was found between fear of birth and anxiety level (p<0.05). Conclusion: Although adolescent and adult pregnant women are different in terms of physical characteristics, some sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics, fear of childbirth levels were found to be similar between groups and it was determined that pregnant women had moderate fear of birth. When the results of the Beck Anxiety Scale applied to pregnant women were examined, it was determined that pregnant women had mild anxiety, there was no significant difference in anxiety level between the adolescent and adult pregnant groups, and that fear of birth and anxiety level were positively correlated. Considering that pregnant women experience moderate fear of birth; it can be said that in order to reduce the fear of birth and to ensure a more positive progress in the birth process, required training should be organized by experienced health personnel, especially midwives, and emphasis should be placed on informative activities.