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The prevalence of troublesome fear of childbirth (FOC) in Western countries is about 20%, of which approximately 6-10% suffer from severe FOC that impacts daily life. The countries of Sweden and Denmark are quite alike as far as childbirth culture is concerned. However, to some extent they differ in the organisation of midwifery care during the antenatal and labour period, respectively, and this may influence women's FOC. The aims of this study were to compare FOC among Danish and Swedish nulliparous women and to investigate a possible difference in FOC between women who, during pregnancy, had met the midwife who they were subsequently coincidentally allocated to receive labour care from and women who had not previously met the midwife. In total 165 women participated, comprising 55 Swedes and 110 Danes, of whom 55 among the latter group had met the midwife during pregnancy. Severe FOC was found in 10%. There were no differences between the Swedish women and the Danish women who had or had not met the midwife. Fear of childbirth measured in gestational week 37 correlated positively with fear at admission to the labour ward.

The experience of emergency caesarean section (EmCS) is traumatic for many women. Up to now, a possible relationship between psychological variables before and after EmCS has not been studied. Therefore, the present study was designed, to examine whether the women's psychological condition during pregnancy correlates with their psychological well-being after EmCS. Questionnaires were administered in gestation week 32, a few days and one month after EmCS. A consecutive sample of pregnant women (N = 1981) completed questionnaires (the predictors) at Time 1. Predictors were operationalized by means of the Wijma-Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ vers. A), the Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Stress Coping Inventory (SCI). Of those women who had an EmCS (N = 97), a selection (N = 40) completed questionnaires (the criterion variables) at Times 2 and 3. The criterion variables were operationalized by means of the W-DEQ vers. B, the Impact of Event Scale (IES), and the Symptom Checklist (SCL). Fear of childbirth (W-DEQ vers. A) was the best overall predictor of the three criterion variables, whereas general anxiety (STAI) was the best predictor of mental distress (SCL) after EmCS. In conclusion, according to the results of this study, particularly fear of childbirth during late pregnancy, but also general anxiety, is associated with mental distress after a subsequent EmCS. Maternal follow-up after a complicated delivery should perhaps be directed especially to women with a history of serious fear of childbirth and/or other anxiety difficulties during gestation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility to categorize women's experiences of emergency cesarean section based on the patterns displayed in their narration of the event, and to describe, if possible, typical features of those categories. Twenty-five consecutive women were interviewed a few days and 1-2 months after emergency cesarean section. The narratives of the women were recorded according to a time-spatial model from disaster psychiatry. The occurrence of a traumatic delivery experience and of posttraumatic intrusive stress reactions 6 weeks postpartum in the various categories was assessed. The narratives of the 25 women can be categorized as follows: Pattern 1 - confidence whatever happens (n = 5), Pattern 2 - positive expectations turning into disappointment (n = 7), Pattern 3 - fears that come true (n = 9), and Pattern 4 - confusion and amnesia (n = 4). In the second and third groups all women had experienced the delivery as traumatic. The women in the second group had the highest prevalence of posttraumatic intrusive stress reactions 6 weeks after the emergency cesarean section.