Investigation of Birth Anxiety That May Develop in Nulliparous Female Health Workers Working in the Delivery Room and the Factors Affecting It- A Cross Sectional Descriptive Study

INTRODUCTION: Birth anxiety is defined as a negative evaluation of the prepartum, partum and postpartum period and an anxious approach to labor. In our study, it was aimed to reveal the prevalence of birth anxiety among nulliparous health workers working in the delivery room and to investigate some factors that may be effective in the development of birth anxiety and the relationship between these factors.
METHODS: The study, which was planned to be based on a cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire, involved 160 nulliparous female health personnel who were working in the delivery room of Baþakþehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital Gynecology Clinic between 01.10.2022 and 01.11.2022. The study used the 19-question Sociodemographic Data Form and the 13-question Scale of Traumatic Childbirth Perception (STCP) prepared by the researcher as data collection tools.
RESULTS: 160 nulliparous female health personnel participated in our study. It was found that half of the patients had moderate birth anxiety. A statistically significant negative relationship was found between the total score of the STCP and the age (years). Those who witnessed a complicated birth had higher overall scores of the STCP compared to those who did not. Participants who preferred cesarean delivery had higher overall scores of STCP compared to those who preferred normal birth.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The study findings suggest that nulliparous female health personnel experience birth anxiety, and several factors contribute to the development of birth anxiety. Therefore, it may be recommended that professional support is provided to female health personnel before and during pregnancy.