Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

History of Fear and Childbearing

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Understanding Anxiety, Worry and Fear in Childbearing

  • 626 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter begins the story of the concept of birth anxiety and fear, exploring how childbearing is documented through the ages, with relevance to the historical culture of birth and birth workers. The chapter will also discuss and explore what has influenced changes in maternity care provision and shaped society’s thinking about birth and its consequences for the women of today.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akl EA, Oxman AD, Herrin J, Vist GE, Terrenato I, Sperati F, Costiniuk C, Blank D, Schünemann H (2001) Using alternative statistical formats for presenting risks and risk reductions. Cochrane Database Syst Rev:CD006776. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006776.pub2

  • Alaszewski A, Coxon K (2008) The everyday experience of living with risk and uncertainty. Health Risk Soc 10(5):413–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698570802383952

  • Al-Mufti R, McCarthy A, Fisk N (1996) Obstetricians’ personal choice and mode of delivery. Lancet 347(9000):544

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen LB, Melvaer LB, Videbech P, Lamont RF, Joergensen JS (2012) Risk factors for developing post-traumatic stress disorder following childbirth: a systematic review. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 91(11):1261–1272

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Areskog B, Uddenberg N, Kjessler B (1983a) Experience of delivery in women with and without antenatal fear of childbirth. Gynecol Obstet Investig 16(1):1–12

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Areskog B, Uddenberg N, Kjessler B (1983b) Background factors in pregnant women with and without fear of childbirth. J Psychosom Obstet Gynecol 2(2):102–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Aveling JH (1967) English midwives: their history and prospects. Hugh K. Elliott, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayers S (2014) Fear of childbirth, postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder and midwifery care. Midwifery 30(2):145–148

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barclay L, Kornelsen J (2016) The closure of rural and remote maternity services: where are the midwives? Midwifery 38:9–11

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beauchamp TL, Childress JF (2001) Principles of biomedical ethics. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck U (2009) World at risk. Polity Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Bisits A (2016) Risk in obstetrics – perspectives and reflections. Midwifery 38:12–13

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowser D, Hill K (2010) Exploring evidence for disrespect and abuse in facility-based childbirth. USAID-TRAction Project, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Buhr K, Dugas MJ (2002) The intolerance of uncertainty scale: psychometric properties of the English version. Behav Res Ther 40(8):931–945

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carleton RN, Norton MPJ, Asmundson GJ (2007) Fearing the unknown: a short version of the intolerance of uncertainty scale. J Anxiety Disord 21(1):105–117

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chalmers I, Enkin M, Keirse MJNC (1989) Effective care in pregnancy and childbirth. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Chief Nursing Officers (CNO) of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (2010) Midwifery 2020 Delivering expectations. Department of Health. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/216029/dh_119470.pdf

  • Citrome L (2018) Happy birthday Ignác Semmelweiss! Now, Let’s All Wash Our Hands! Int J Clin Pract 72(10):e13256

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper T (2015) Promoting normal birth: courage through compassion. In: Byrom S, Downe S (eds) The roar behind the silence: why kindness and compassion matter in maternity care. Pinter & Martin, London, pp 57–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Coxon K, Scamell M, Alaszewski A (2012) Risk, pregnancy and childbirth: what do we currently know and what do we need to know? An editorial. Health Risk Soc 14(6):503–510

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Gregorio RP (2010) Obstetric violence: a new legal term introduced in Venezuela. Int J Gynecol Obstet 111:201–202

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Souza R (2013) Caesarean section on maternal request for non-medical reasons: putting the UK National Institute of Health And Clinical Excellence guidelines in perspective. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 27(2):165–177

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • D’Souza R, Arulkumaran S (2013) To ‘C’ or not to ‘C’?/caesarean delivery upon maternal request: a review of facts, figures and guidelines. J Perinat Med 41(1):5–15

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlen H (2010) Undone by fear? Deluded by trust? Midwifery 26(2):156–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2009.11.0

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlen HG, Caplice S (2014) What do midwives fear? Women Birth 27(4):266–270

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlen H, Gutteridge K (2015) Stop the fear and embrace birth. In: Byrom S, Downe S (eds) The roar behind the silence: why kindness and compassion matter in maternity care. Pinter & Martin, London, pp 98–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis-Floyd R (1994) The technocratic body: American childbirth as a cultural expression. Soc Sci Med 38(8):1125–1140

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health (1993) Changing childbirth report of the expert maternity group. The Stationery Office Books, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health (2007) Maternity matters: choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service. HMSO, London https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130103004823/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_073312

    Google Scholar 

  • Devane D, Murphy Lawless J (2005) Scene and obscene: childbirth in Ireland 1650–1750 in Fealy, care to remember: nursing and midwifery in Ireland. Mercier Press, Cork

    Google Scholar 

  • Donnison J (1988) Midwives and medical men: a history of struggle for control of childbirth. Historical Publications, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Enkin MW, Glouberman S, Groff P, Jadad AR, Stern A (2006) Beyond evidence: the complexity of maternity care. Birth 33(4):265–269

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson C, Jansson L, Hamberg K (2006) Women’s experiences of intense fear related to childbirth investigated in a Swedish qualitative study. Midwifery 22(3):240–248

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Everly MC (2012) Facilitators and barriers of independent decisions by midwives during labor and birth. J Midwifery Womens Health 57:49–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-2011.2011.00088.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faisal I, Matinnia N, Hejar AR, Khodakarami Z (2014) Why do primigravidae request caesarean section in a normal pregnancy? A qualitative study in Iran. Midwifery 30(2):227–233

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feeley C, Thomson G (2016) Tensions and conflicts in ‘choice’: women’s experiences of freebirthing in the UK. Midwifery 41:16–21

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feinmann J (2002) How to limit caesareans on demand—too NICE to push? Lancet 359(9308):774

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fenwick J, Toohill J, Creedy DK, Smith J, Gamble J (2015) Sources, responses and moderators of childbirth fear in Australian women: a qualitative investigation. Midwifery 31(1):239–246

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick KE, Kurinczuk JJ, Alfirevic Z, Spark P, Brocklehurst P, Knight M (2012) Uterine rupture by intended mode of delivery in the UK: a National Case-Control Study. PLoS Med 9(3):e1001184

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Garthus-Niegel S, Størksen HT, Torgersen L, Von Soest T, Eberhard-Gran M (2011) The Wijma delivery expectancy/experience questionnaire–a factor analytic study. J Psychosom Obstet Gynecol 32(3):160–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Geissbuehler V, Eberhard J (2002) Fear of childbirth during pregnancy: a study of more than 8000 pregnant women. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol 23(4):229–235

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gorey P (2012) In: Preston M, ÓhÓgartaigh M (eds) Managing midwifery in Dublin: practice and practitioners 1700–1800. Gender and medicine in Ireland 1700–1950. Syracuse University Press, Sracuse

    Google Scholar 

  • Green J, Baston H (2007) Have women become more willing to accept obstetric interventions and does this relate to mode of birth? Data from a prospective study. Birth 34(1):6–13

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greer J, Lazenbatt A, Dunne L (2014) ‘Fear of Childbirth’ and ways of coping for pregnant women and their partners during the birthing process: a salutogenic analysis. Evidence Based Midwifery 12(3):95–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Haines H, Pallant JF, Karlström A, Hildingsson I (2011) Cross-cultural comparison of levels of childbirth-related fear in an Australian and Swedish sample. Midwifery 27(4):560–567

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Healy S, Humphreys E, Kennedy C (2016) Can maternity care move beyond risk? Implications for midwifery as a profession. Br J Midwifery 24(3):203–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Hildingsson I, Rubertsson C, Karlström A, Haines H (2018a) Emotional well-being and the importance for women with fear of birth to have a known midwife at birth. J Psychol Mental Health Care 2(1):1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Hildingsson I, Rubertsson C, Karlström A, Haines H (2018b) Caseload midwifery for women with fear of birth is a feasible option. Sex Reprod Healthc 16:50–55

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hofberg K, Brockington I (2000) Tokophobia: an unreasoning dread of childbirth: a series of 26 cases. Br J Psychiatry 176(1):83–85

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones C (2018) Re; sixty seconds on… Tokophobia. BMJ 362:k3933

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy HP (2002) The midwife as an “instrument” of care. Am J Public Health 92(11):1759–1760

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kotaska A (2017) Informed consent and refusal in obstetrics: A practical ethical guide. Birth. 44:195–199 https://doi-org.ucc.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/birt.12281

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lane K (2015) Pluralist risk cultures: the sociology of childbirth in Vanuatu. Health Risk Soc 17(5–6):349–367

    Google Scholar 

  • Larsson B, Hildingsson I, Ternström E, Rubertsson C, Karlström A (2019) Women’s experience of midwife-led counselling and its influence on childbirth fear: a qualitative study. Women Birth 32(1):e88–e94

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis L (2018) Re: sixty seconds on…Tokophobia. Tokophobia is rare but fear of childbirth is common. BMJ 362:k3933

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyberg A, Severinsson E (2010) Fear of childbirth: women' experiences of team-midwifery care–a follow-up study. J Nurs Manag 18(4):383–390

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maier B (2010) Women’s worries about childbirth: making safe choices. Br J Midwifery 18(5):293–299

    Google Scholar 

  • Marland H (1993) The art of midwifery: early modern midwives in Europe. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Marland H (2003) Disappointment and desolation: women, doctors and interpretations of puerperal insanity in the nineteenth century. Hist Psychiatry 14(3):303–320

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayor S (2018) Sixty seconds on … tokophobia. BMJ 362:k3933. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k3933

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Melender H (2002) Fears and coping strategies associated with pregnancy and childbirth in Finland. J Midwifery Women’s Health 47(4):256–263

    Google Scholar 

  • Michaels PA (2018) Childbirth and trauma, 1940s–1980s. J Hist Med Allied Sci 73(1):52–72

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller S, Abalos E, Chamillard M, Ciapponi A, Colaci D, Comandé D, Diaz V, Geller S, Hanson C, Langer A, Manuelli V, Millar K, Morhason-Bello I, Castro CP, Pileggi VN, Robinson N, Skaer M, Souza JP, Vogel JP, Althabe F (2016) Beyond too little, too late and too much, too soon: a pathway towards evidence-based, respectful maternity care worldwide. Lancet 388(10056):2176–2192

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris Slemons J (1912) The prospective woman a handbook for women during pregnancy. Project Gutenberg EBook http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7129/pg7129-images.html

  • Murphy Lawless J (1998) Reading birth and death. A history of obstetric thinking. Cork University Press, Cork

    Google Scholar 

  • NHS National Maternity Review (2018) Better births improving outcomes of maternity services in England a five year forward view for maternity care. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/national-maternity-review-report.pdf

  • NICE (2013) Caesarean section. NICE, London https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs32/resources/caesarean-section-pdf-2098602884293

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson C, Hessman E, Sjöblom H, Dencker A, Jangsten E, Mollberg M, Patel H, Sparud-Lundin C, Wigert H, Begley C (2018) Definitions, measurements and prevalence of fear of childbirth: a systematic review. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 18(1):28

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell MA (2018) Re: sixty seconds on… tokophobia, focus on fear of childbirth. BMJ 362:k3933

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell MA (2019) Preventing, recognising, and responding to fear of childbirth and birth trauma. BMJ 365 :l2279

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell R, Downe S (2009) A metasynthesis of midwives’ experience of hospital practice in publicly funded settings: compliance, resistance and authenticity. Health 13(6):589–609

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell M, Gurney E, Lindow S (2003) The philosophy of practice governs the rate of obstetric intervention: analysis of 212 units in the United Kingdom. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 13(4):267–270

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell M, Leahy-Warren P, Khashan AS, Kenny LC (2015) Tokophobia–the new hysteria? Obstet Gynaecol Reprod Med 25(6):175–177

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell MA, Leahy-Warren P, Khashan AS, Kenny LC, O’Neill SM (2017) Worldwide prevalence of tokophobia in pregnant women: systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 96(8):907–920

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell MA, Leahy‐Warren P, Kenny LC, O’Neill SM and Khashan AS (2019). The prevalence and risk factors of fear of childbirth among pregnant women: a cross sectional study in Ireland. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.13599

  • O’Dowd MJ, Philipp EE (2000) The history of obstetrics and gynaecology. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Pallant JF, Haines HM, Green P, Toohill J, Gamble J, Creedy DK, Fenwick J (2016) Assessment of the dimensionality of the Wijma delivery expectancy/experience questionnaire using factor analysis and Rasch analysis. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 16(1):361

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Peller S (1943) Studies on mortality since the renaissance. Bull Hist Med 13(4):427–446

    Google Scholar 

  • Plested M, Kirkham M (2016) Risk and fear in the lived experience of birth without a midwife. Midwifery 38:29–34

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prusova K, Churcher L, Tyler A, Lokugamage AU (2014) Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guidelines: how evidence-based are they? J Obstet Gynaecol 34(8):706–711

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • RCOG (2015) Birth after previous caesarean birth green-top guideline no. 45. https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/gtg_45.pdf

  • Rilby L, Jansson S, Lindblom B, Mårtensson LB (2012) A qualitative study of women's feelings about future childbirth: dread and delight. J Midwifery Women’s Health 57(2):120–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Robson SJ, Tan WS, Adeyemi A, Dear KBG (2009) Estimating the rate of cesarean section by maternal request: anonymous survey of obstetricians in Australia. Birth 36(3):208–212

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rondung E, Thomten J, Sundin O (2016) Psychological perspectives on fear of childbirth. J Anxiety Disord 44:80–91

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rouhe H, Salmela-Aro K, Halmesmäki E, Saisto T (2008) Fear of childbirth according to parity, gestational age, and obstetric history. BJOG Int J Obstet Gynaecol 116(1):67–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadler M, Santos MJ, Ruiz-Berdún D, Rojas GL, Skoko E, Gillen P, Clausen JA (2016) Moving beyond disrespect and abuse: addressing the structural dimensions of obstetric violence. Reprod Health Matters 24(47):47–55

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sarda G (2011) Artificially maintained scientific controversies, the construction of maternal choice and caesarean section rates. Soc Theory Health 9(2):166–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiller R (2017) Why human rights in childbirth matter. Pinter and Martin, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheen K, Slade P (2018) Examining the content and moderators of women's fears for giving birth: a meta-synthesis. J Clin Nurs 27(13–14):2523–2535

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair M, Gardner J (2001) Midwives’ perceptions of the use of technology in assisting childbirth in Northern Ireland. J Adv Nurs 36(2):229–236

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner J (2016) The tensions of uncertainty: midwives managing risk in and of their practice. Midwifery 38:35–41

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Striebich S, Mattern E, Ayerle GM (2018) Support for pregnant women identified with fear of childbirth (FOC)/tokophobia–a systematic review of approaches and interventions. Midwifery 61:97–115

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor-Gooby P (2000) Risk and welfare. In: Taylor-Gooby P (ed) Risk, trust and welfare. Macmillan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • ten Hoope-Bender P, de Bernis L, Campbell J, Downe S, Fauveau V, Fogstad H, Homer CS, Kennedy HP, Matthews Z, McFadden A, Renfrew MJ (2014) Improvement of maternal and newborn health through midwifery. Lancet 384(9949):1226–1235

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tew M (1995) Safer childbirth? A critical history of maternity care. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas J, Paranjothy S (2001) RCOG clinical effectiveness support unit. National Sentinel Caesarean Section Audit Report. RCOG Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson BL (2018) Catastrophising pain in childbirth. Aust Midwifery News 18(2):41

    Google Scholar 

  • Todman D (2007) A history of caesarean section: from ancient world to the modern era. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol 47(5):357–361

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Toohill J, Creedy DK, Gamble J, Fenwick J (2015) A cross-sectional study to determine utility of childbirth fear screening in maternity practice - an Australian perspective. Women Birth 28(4):310–316

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trede K, Baldessarini RJ, Viguera AC, Bottéro A (2009) Treatise on insanity in pregnant, postpartum, and lactating women (1858) by Louis-victor Marcé: a commentary. Harv Rev Psychiatry 17(2):157–165

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • UN Millennium Project (2005) Investing in development: a practical plan to achieve the millennium development goals. United Nations, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • van Dinter-Douma EE, de Vries NE, Aarts-Greven M, Stramrood CA, van Pampus MG (2018) Screening for trauma and anxiety recognition: knowledge, management and attitudes amongst gynecologists regarding women with fear of childbirth and postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 18:1–281

    Google Scholar 

  • Walzer Leavitt J (1986) Brought to bed: childbearing in America, 1750 to 1950. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Weaver J, Magill-Cuerden J (2013) “Too Posh to Push”: the rise and rise of a catchphrase. Birth 40(4):264–271

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wiesner M (1994) The midwives of South Germany and the public/private dichotomy in the art of midwifery early modern midwives in Europe. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Wijma K, Wijma B, Zar M (1998) Psychometric aspects of the W-DEQ; a new questionnaire for the measurement of fear of childbirth. J Psychosom Obstet Gynecol 19(8):4–97

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2014) The prevention and elimination of disrespect and abuse during facility-based childbirth. WHO/RHR/14.23. World Health Organization, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2018a) WHO recommendations: non-clinical interventions to reduce unnecessary caesarean sections. World Health Organisation, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2018b) WHO recommendations: intrapartum care for a positive birth experience. World Health Organisation, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Wulcan AC, Nilsson C (2019) Midwives’ counselling of women at specialised fear of childbirth clinics: a qualitative study. Sex Reprod Healthc 19:24–30

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland in Bahrain, Muharraq, Bahrain

    Maeve O’Connell

  2. The Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT Centre), University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Maeve O’Connell & Rhona O’Connell

Authors
  1. Maeve O’Connell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rhona O’Connell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maeve O’Connell .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NHS Trust City Hospital, Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospital, Birmingham, UK

    Kathryn Gutteridge

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

O’Connell, M., O’Connell, R. (2020). History of Fear and Childbearing. In: Gutteridge, K. (eds) Understanding Anxiety, Worry and Fear in Childbearing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21063-2_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21063-2_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21062-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21063-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation