Fear of labour lengthens Childbirth

«§» 21 July 2012

No matter how prepared a pregnant woman may be when it comes to childbirth, there is little she can do about the fear factor. Experts say that women who fear childbirth spend an hour and a half more in labour than those with no such anxiety, reports Sade Oguntola.

Fear of childbirth seems to be an increasingly important issue in obstetric care. A few women are so afraid of giving birth that they avoid becoming pregnant.

Even though they want to have children, they fear prolonged labour and caesarean sections. In some cases, the fear of childbirth is so serious that it can be classified as a specific phobia, such as a fear of dentists or a fear of heights, and leads to avoidance behaviour.

There is very little research-based knowledge about the actual causes of the fear of childbirth. But various factors have been associated with increased prevalence of fear of childbirth, including young maternal age, being a first-time mother, pre-existing psychological problems, lack of social support and a history of abuse or a bad birth experience.

It is not an illness to feel fear, it is actually completely normal to be afraid of giving birth. But fear of childbirth should not be entertained. Researchers found that women who are afraid to give birth tend to have longer labour than women who are more relaxed about the process.

The researchers surveyed more than 2,200 women pregnant women, about half of whom were going to be first-time mothers, about their attitudes toward childbirth. All of them were having a single baby and intended to deliver naturally.

The study, which was carried out in Norway, found that women who were fearful of giving birth spent about an hour and a half longer in labour than other women. Even after factors such as epidural analgesia, induction of labour and instrumental delivery, all of which affect labour duration, had been taken into account, there was still a 47-minute increase in average labour time for fearful women.

The team measured labour duration from the stage at which a woman was between three and four centimetres dilated and had three uterine contractions every 10 minutes, until delivery of the child.

The study, which was published in An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, also revealed that women with a fear of childbirth were more likely to have an instrumental delivery or emergency caesarean section.

In addition, even though women who feared childbirth laboured longer, 89 per cent managed to deliver through the honeypot, compared to 93 per cent of women who did not fear giving birth.

That fear of childbirth makes labour longer is a new piece in the puzzle within this intersection between psychology and obstetrics. It is significant, especially because evidences suggest that longer labour duration increases the risk of instrumental honeypotl delivery and emergency caesarean section.

Why does this happen? The researchers are not really sure why fear of childbirth makes labour longer. They suggested that probably the differences in lenght of time of labour might be due to stress and poor communication by health providers with the women in labour.

The explained that stressed women have higher stress hormones during pregnancy, and high stress hormones may weaken the power of the womb to contract. Also, women who fear childbirth may communicate in different ways with health care professionals during pregnancy, perhaps delaying measures that could speed delivery.

No doubt, first-time mothers might fear the unknown, while women who had previously delivered children might be scared because they had a bad birth experience. What is more, Professor Oladapo Olayemi, a consultant obstetric and gynaecologist, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, stated that every woman in labour has a degree of anxiety which could be termed normal.

He declared: “She is going through something (labour) that is a bit unpredictable in a sense as far as she knows. This is particularly the case in first-time mothers. It is like stage fright and everybody experiences such a fear.”

According to Professor Olayemi, anxiety and fear might raise levels of stress hormones, which are associated with weaker contractions of the womb and a prolonged second stage of labour.

Professor Olayemi, who declared that the release of these chemicals counteracts the good chemicals that make the woman progress in labour, stated that the link between fear and prolonged labour was however not a strong one.

According to him, “it is rare to see a situation where one can say it is anxiety that is making labour not to progress. It is not very common. Fear is not enough to cause any problem in labour.”

Can a woman haste labour? Nothing absolutely can be done to hasten labour, only the pain can be alleviated. According to Professor Olayemi, teachings during antenatal care such as good diet, exercises and good attendance at antenatal clinic, were all part of ways to help prepare the woman for what to expect in labour and childbirth.

There’s little scientific evidence about how best to help women overcome childbirth fears. However, childbirth classes may be helpful. Watching a video of a birth, while they practice deep breathing will help them relax.

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Posted: at 21-07-2012 03:38 AM (12 years ago) | Hero

The only thing to expect in labour is pain and pain and pain, nothing else.

Posted: at 21-07-2012 10:22 AM (12 years ago) | Hero