Effects of Pregnant Women’s Fear of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pregnancy Stress and Traumatic Childbirth Perception

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of pregnant women’s fear of COVID-19 on pregnancy stress and traumatic childbirth perception.

Methods: This study utilized a descriptive and relational design and was conducted with a total of 296 pregnant women registered in Family Health Centers located in a city center in eastern Turkey. Data were collected through the Personal Information Form, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale, and the Traumatic Childbirth Perception Scale. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics (percentage, mean, standard deviation) and t-test in independent groups, analysis of variance, correlation, and regression analysis.

Results: The average age of the participating pregnant women was found to be 28.94 ± 5.53. A weak and positive correlation was detected between the Fear of COVID-19 Scale mean score and the Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale and the Traumatic Childbirth Perception Scale mean scores (r: .275, .288, respectively; p < .001). In addition, a weak and positive correlation was found between the Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale mean score and the Traumatic Childbirth Perception Scale mean score (r: .486; p < .001). The fear of COVID-19 was found to explain pregnancy stress by 7% and traumatic childbirth perception by 8% (β = .275, β = .288; p < .01).

Conclusion: This study found that the fear of COVID-19 experienced by pregnant women had effects on their pregnancy stress and traumatic childbirth perception.

Cite this article as: Unver, H., Özşahin, Z., & Gezer Tekdal, A. (2022). Gebelerde COVID-19 korkusunun gebelik stresi ve travmatik doğum algısına etkisi. Journal of Midwifery and Health Sciences, 5(2), 71-78.