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Abstract
Our aim was to study the occurrence of extreme fear during labor and its association with previous sexual abuse in adult life. All postpartum women (n = 414) in two municipalities in Norway participated in a questionnaire study. Self-reported fear during labor was categorized as “no fear/some fear/extreme fear”. Sexual abuse was measured by the Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS). Three percent of the women reported extreme fear during labor, 13% some fear and 84% no fear. In total, 12% had been sexually abused as an adult. Among the women with extreme fear during labor, however, one third had a history of sexual abuse in adult life (crude odds ratio 3.7; 95% CI: 1.0–3.7). When controlling for depression in pregnancy, duration of labor and mode of delivery, the adjusted odds ratio for extreme fear during labor was 4.9 (95% CI: 1.2–19.1). The results suggest that women with a history of sexual abuse in adult life have an increased risk of extreme fear during labor.
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