BACKGROUND Few studies from low-income countries have addressed women's fear of childbirth (FOC) although likely to affect women during both pregnancy and childbirth. The aim of this study was to explore FOC in a high maternal mortality setting in the Arab region, Yemen. METHODS A multi-stage (stratified-purposive-random) sampling process was used. We interviewed 220 women with childbirth exp...

Many epidemiologic and clinical studies have indicated that the frequency of breast cancer was lower in parous women than in nulliparous women. Moreover, the incidence of breast cancer has been reported to be lower in women with early childbirth than in women with late childbirth. To verify the effect of childbirth and the age at first childbirth on carcinogenesis and progression of breast canc...

Hypotheses that might explain urinary incontinence during pregnancy and after childbirth have been examined. The prevalence of urinary incontinence reaches a maximum during pregnancy and decreases after childbirth. Cesarean delivery is associated with lower rates of stress incontinence than vaginal delivery. Women delivered by cesarean section differ from women who had a vaginal delivery throug...

Based on ethnographic research regarding public policy and grassroots organizing for midwifery in Virginia, this article explores how medical discourses around appropriate health care practices intersect with state discourses about what practices are considered "respectable" versus "pathological" for its citizens. In recent legislative debates about the legalization of direct-entry midwifery, m...

Background: Around 20% of birthing women report high levels of childbirth fear. Fear potentially impacts women’s emotional health, preparation for birth, and birth outcomes. Evidence suggests that personal and external factors contribute to childbirth fear, however results vary. Aim: To identify pyscho-social factors associated with childbirth fear and possible antenatal predictors of childbirt...

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OBJECTIVE To study the associations of anxiety and depression with fear of childbirth. DESIGN A cross-sectional questionnaire study. SETTING Prenatal public healthcare in Norway. SAMPLE Pregnant women (n=1642) recruited during November 2008 until April 2010. METHODS Data were collected by a postal questionnaire at pregnancy week 32. Fear of childbirth was measured by the Wijma Delivery ...