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Fear of childbirth measurement: appraisal of the content overlap of four instruments
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Fear of childbirth measurement: appraisal of the content overlap of four instruments

Colin Martin, Catriona Jones, Claire A Marshall, Chao Huang, Joanne Reeve, Mick P Fleming, Julia König and Julie Jomeen
Journal of reproductive and infant psychology, Vol.40(4), pp.329-341
2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2020.1861226
PMID: 33350320
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Abstract

Objective To evaluate empirically the degree of content overlap between four self-report measures of fear of childbirth (FoC) identified as ‘best in class’ by a recent review. Background FoC and tokophobia is an area of increasing clinical concern and has been linked to poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. Clinical pathways have been established to improve care and interventions for FoC however, ambiguity and inconsistency remain regarding the most appropriate assessment measures. Method A multi-rater and consensus content analysis was undertaken to determine the degree of overlap between four ‘best in class’ measures of FoC/tokophobia. Results The Slade-Pais expectations of childbirth scale (SPECS) was found to be the preferred measure in terms of symptom overlap of the tools evaluated, however, the overall level of overlap among these measures was weak. Conclusion Limitations inherent to the current battery of preferred measures of FoC suggests both the desirability and urgency to develop a theoretically-grounded, psychometrically robust and accurate FoC assessment measure. Current measures of FoC are not interchangeable.

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