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

Objective: To create a clear and acceptable measure of fear of childbirth with satisfactory content validity for use with English-speaking women in the UK. Background: Fear of childbirth (FOC) can have a significant impact on a woman's view of her pregnancy, birth and her recovery post birth. Early identification is paramount to ensure that women's needs are recognised so that appropriately tailored care can be provided in pregnancy. Availability of reliable and valid measures to assess FOC in an English-speaking population are sparse, mainly due to issues with definitions of FOC or cultural sensitivity after translation. Recent research from phase one of the Fear of Childbirth study (FOCUS), has established key elements for FOC in an English-speaking UK population, and allows for a culturally sensitive measure of FOC to be developed. The aim was to ensure inclusion of all ten FOC elements and to attend to guidance from women in phase two of the FOCUS study about what would ensure clarity and acceptability. Method: A multidisciplinary team developed items in accordance with FOCUS. The measure was then piloted with one reviewer and further refined by the team of perinatal researchers. Results: The FCQ is a new 20-item fear of childbirth questionnaire, which has been developed and is grounded in fears reported by women in the UK. Conclusion: A new tool to measure FOC in an English-speaking UK population with good content validity has undergone a preliminary phase of development and now needs testing for reliability and other forms of validity.