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Abstract
The prevalence of troublesome fear of childbirth (FOC) in Western countries is about 20%, of which approximately 6–10% suffer from severe FOC that impacts daily life. The countries of Sweden and Denmark are quite alike as far as childbirth culture is concerned. However, to some extent they differ in the organisation of midwifery care during the antenatal and labour period, respectively, and this may influence women's FOC. The aims of this study were to compare FOC among Danish and Swedish nulliparous women and to investigate a possible difference in FOC between women who, during pregnancy, had met the midwife who they were subsequently coincidentally allocated to receive labour care from and women who had not previously met the midwife. In total 165 women participated, comprising 55 Swedes and 110 Danes, of whom 55 among the latter group had met the midwife during pregnancy. Severe FOC was found in 10%. There were no differences between the Swedish women and the Danish women who had or had not met the midwife. Fear of childbirth measured in gestational week 37 correlated positively with fear at admission to the labour ward.
Acknowledgements
The Danish Dystocia Study was funded by grants from the following institutions and foundations: Copenhagen Hospital Corporation, The Lundbeck Foundation, Aase and Ejnar Danielsen's Foundation, The Augustinus Foundation, The Health Insurance Foundation, The Danish Midwifery Association, King Christian X's Foundation, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine. The Swedish study was funded by research grants from The Swedish Foundation for Health Care and Science and Allergy Research, and The Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation.
