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Pregnancy presents a teachable moment to engage male smokers whose partners are pregnant in smoking cessation. Evidence on how to approach and help these smokers quit smoking in antenatal settings has remained scarce. This paper presents the rationale and study design of a trial which aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief intervention model for promoting smoking cessation in expectant fathers. BANSAR is a pragmatic randomised controlled trial conducted in antenatal clinic in seven public hospitals in Hong Kong, China. An estimated 1148 fathers who smoke at least one cigarette daily and whose partners are pregnant and non-smoking will be randomised (1:1) to receive brief advice combined with 1-week sample of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and active referral to smoking cessation services, or brief advice only (usual care). Outcome will be assessed at 3 and 6 months after treatment initiation. The primary outcome is carbon monoxide-verified (<4 part per million) abstinence at 6 months post-treatment initiation. Secondary outcomes include self-reported 7-day point-prevalence abstinence and 24-week continuous abstinence, use of smoking cessation service and NRT and quit attempt, and smoking reduction, change in nicotine dependence and intention to quit in continuing smokers. This trial will provide real-world evidence on the effectiveness of a combined brief intervention model for smoking cessation in expectant fathers, an understudied population. The findings may be particularly relevant to low and middle-income countries, where male-to-female smoking ratios and birth rates tend to be higher than higher-income countries. ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03671707. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fear of childbirth has a significant impact on women's well-being post-birth. It can affect the women's relationships, future reproductive choices, and their decision on their future mode of birth. The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (Version B) is a comprehensive instrument for the assessment of postnatal fear of childbirth., Methods: Hong Kong Chinese women at a postnatal ward of a tertiary hospital completed the translated questionnaire, Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, and State-trait Anxiety Inventory. Exploratory factor analysis was performed. Pearson's correlation between the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (Version B) and the State-trait Anxiety Inventory or Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale scores were used to determine the convergent validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient were used to determine the reliability of the translated Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (Version B)., Results: 136 postnatal mothers completed the study. 21.3% of women experienced fear of childbirth using the standard cut-off of 85/165. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and test-retest reliability of the Chinese version were 0.910 and 0.741 respectively. Convergent validity was demonstrated with other psychological measures at expected moderate levels. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 4 factors., Conclusion: The Chinese version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (Version B) is a valid and reliable instrument to measure fear of childbirth amongst Chinese postpartum women. The questionnaire can be used to assess the severity of women's fear throughout their postpartum period, and to monitor the response of any medical or psychological interventions for women experiencing postnatal fear of childbirth., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Submission declaration and verification – The authors declare that the work has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All authors have read and approved the manuscript., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Introduction: Fear of childbirth causes significant distress and impact on women's wellbeing. It contributed to the rising trend of non-medically indicated Caesarean births worldwide. The objective of this study was to translate and validate the Chinese version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (Version A) (W-DEQ-A), which is a comprehensive instrument for the assessment of fear of childbirth among antenatal women., Methods: The translated questionnaire was finalised after back-translation and review by an expert panel. Hong Kong Chinese women at an antenatal clinic completed the translated questionnaire, Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS), and State-trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The reliability of the translated questionnaire was analysed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient. Convergent validity was measured by Pearson's correlation between the W-DEQ-A and STAI or EPDS scores. The subscales of the questionnaire were determined using exploratory factor analysis., Results: One hundred and fifty women completed the study. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and test-retest reliability of the Chinese version were 0.907 and 0.867, respectively. Convergent validity was demonstrated by the moderate correlation between the translated W-DEQ-A and STAI or EPDS. Exploratory factor analysis of the W-DEQ-A revealed a multi-dimensional structure with four factors: sense of isolation, moment of birth, negative emotion, and lack of positive self-evaluation. Using a standard cut-off of 85, 11.3% of women were found to suffer from fear of childbirth., Conclusion: The Chinese version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (Version A) is a reliable and valid instrument to measure antenatal fear of childbirth among Chinese women., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None declared., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)