Prenatal attachment in the pregnancy: its relationship with fear of childbirth

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the level of prenatal attachment of pregnant women and its relationship with fear of childbirth. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 125 pregnant women who applied to outpatient obstetric unit of a training and research hospital in Ankara between September 2019 and March 2020. The data were collected using the “Participant Information Form”, “Wijma Delivery Expectation Questionnaire Version A (W-DEQ A)” and “Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI)”. Results: The average PAI score of pregnant women is 67.19±9.56. It was found that there was a significant relationship between the education level of pregnant women and the average PAI score (p=0.002). There was no significant difference between the gestational age, income level, education level, working status, obstetric characteristics of pregnant women, and average PAI score (p<0.05). A negative, weak, and significant relationship was found between W-DEQ A and PAI scores (r=-0.183, p=0.041). According to the linear regression model, it was found that the age, duration of the marriage, and fear of childbirth of pregnant women had a significant effect on the total score of PAI (p=0.001, p=0.018, p=0.019, respectively). Conclusion: The high fear of childbirth, young age and short marriage time may decrease prenatal attachment. As the fear of childbirth of pregnant women increases, the level of prenatal attachment decreases.