A new scale for fear of childbirth: the Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire (FCQ)

Figures & data

Table 1. Generated questions from the 10 elements of fear of childbirth established by an English speaking UK based population.

	Fear as reported by UK women	Generated Question	Item number on FCQ
1	Fear of not knowing and not being able to plan for the unpredictable	‘I worry my labour or birth will not go to plan’	2
		‘I worry that labour is unpredictable’	11
2	Fear of harm or stress to the baby	‘ I am worried that my baby will be harmed during labour and birth’	6
		‘I am worried that my baby will feel stressed during labour and birth’	15
3	Fear of my inability to cope with the pain	‘I am confident I will be able to cope with the pain’*	5
		‘I am confident I will get the pain relief I want’*	17
4	Fear of my body’s ability to give birth	‘ I am confident my body can give birth to my baby’*	8
		‘I am confident my body will work well during labour and birth’*	20
5	Fear of harm to self in labour and postnatally	‘I am worried about the long-term effects that labour or birth could have on my body’	4
		‘ I am worried I will be harmed during labour’.	13
6.	Fear of being ‘done’ to	‘I am worried about things being “done” to me during labour and birth’	12
		‘I worry about having unpleasant procedures during labour and birth’	16
7.	Fear of not being heard	‘I am confident that staff will respect my wishes’*	3
		‘I worry I will not have a voice in decision-making during labour’	9
8.	Fear of being abandoned and alone	‘I am confident that staff will be there when I need them’*	14
		‘I worry about being left alone, without my chosen birth partner, during labour’	18
9.	Fear of internal loss of control	‘I worry I will lose control of myself during labour’	7
		‘I am confident I am emotionally strong enough to cope with labour and birth’*	10
10.	Terrified of birth and not knowing why	‘I feel fine about my labour and giving birth to my baby’*	1
		‘I am worried about labour and birth and I don’t know why’	19

*item score reversed.

Table 2. The Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire (FCQ)This questionnaire is for women who are pregnant. It aims to see how you are feeling about the labour and birth of your baby. Please think about how you have felt over the last 2 weeks. Please read each of the statements below and say how much you agree with them by ticking the box from strongly disagree to strongly agree. There are no right or wrong answers, just give your first response.

		Strongly disagree (0)	Slightly Disagree (1)	Slightly Agree (2)	Strongly agree (3)
1	I feel fine about my labour and giving birth to my baby
2	I worry my labour or birth will not go to plan
3	I am confident that staff will always respect my wishes
4	I am worried about the long-term effects that labour or birth could have on my body
5	I am confident I will be able to cope with the pain
6	I am worried that my baby will be harmed during labour and birth
7	I worry I will lose control of myself during labour
8	I am confident my body can give birth to my baby
9	I worry I will not have a voice in decision making during labour
10	I am confident I am emotionally strong enough to cope with labour and birth
11	I worry that labour is unpredictable
12	I am worried about things being ‘done’ to me during labour and birth
13	I am worried I will be harmed during labour
14	I am confident that staff will be there when I need them
15	I worry that my baby will feel distressed during labour and birth
16	I worry about having unpleasant procedures during labour and birth
17	I am confident I will get the pain relief I want
18	I worry about being left alone, without my chosen birth partner, during labour
19	I am worried about labour and birth and I don’t know why
20	I am confident my body will work well during labour and birth
Have any of the points above really bothered you over the past 2 weeks (please circle)?		Yes	No
	If no, thank you for completing this questionnaire
	If yes, please answer the next three questions (please circle):
1.	How much have they bothered you?	1- A little bit	2- Quite a lot	3- A great deal	4- Extremely
2.	How often have they bothered you?	1- Once or twice	2- Most days	3- Everyday	4- Lots of times each day
3.	Is this something you would like specific help or support with?	Yes	No