Preferred and actual mode of delivery in relation to fear of childbirth.

Purpose: This prospective cohort study aimed to investigate the interrelation between preferred/actual mode of delivery and pre- and postpartum fear of childbirth (FOC).

Material And Methods: Participants from 13 midwifery practices and four hospitals in Southwest Netherlands filled out questionnaires at 30 weeks' gestation ( = 561) and two months postpartum ( = 463), including questions on preferred mode of delivery, the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). Results were related to obstetric data.

Is fear of childbirth related to the woman's preferred location for giving birth? A Dutch low-risk cohort study.

Background: In The Netherlands, women with low-risk pregnancy are routinely given the option of home birth, providing a unique opportunity to study the relationship between fear of childbirth (FOC) and preference for childbirth location, and whether women experience higher FOC when the actual location differs from their preference.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 331 nulliparous and parous women completed a questionnaire at gestational week 30 (T1) and two months postpartum (T2). FOC was assessed using versions A (T1) and B (T2) of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ).

Haptotherapy as a new intervention for treating fear of childbirth: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of haptotherapy on severe fear of childbirth in pregnant women.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Community midwifery practices and a teaching hospital in the Netherlands.

Body dysmorphic disorder in female Swedish dermatology patients.

Background: Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are highly distressed and impaired owing to perceived defects in their physical appearance that are not noticeable to others. They are frequently concerned about their skin and often present to dermatologists rather than psychiatrists. However, BDD patients attending dermatology clinics may be at risk of not receiving an appropriate assessment and beneficial treatment.

Severe fear of childbirth indicates high perinatal costs for Swedish women giving birth to their first child.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to calculate costs associated with severe fear of childbirth (FOC) during pregnancy and peripartum by comparing two groups of women expecting their first child and attending an ordinary antenatal program; one with low FOC and one with severe FOC.

Material And Methods: In a prospective case-control cohort study one group with low FOC [Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) sum score ≤60, n = 107] and one with severe FOC (W-DEQ ≥85, n = 43) were followed up till 3 months postpartum and included in the analysis. Medical records were assessed and medical parameters were mapped.

'I will be at death's door and realize that I've wasted maybe half of my life on one body part': the experience of living with body dysmorphic disorder.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of patients living with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), including their experiences with the health care system.

Methods: Fifteen individuals with BDD were interviewed, and interpretive description was used to analyse the interviews.

Results: The following six themes were identified: being absorbed in time-consuming procedures, facing tension between one's own ideal and the perceived reality, becoming the disorder, being restricted in life, attempting to reduce one's problems and striving to receive care.

Internet-provided cognitive behaviour therapy of posttraumatic stress symptoms following childbirth-a randomized controlled trial.

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of trauma-focused guided Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy for relieving posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following childbirth, a problem that about 3% women encounter postpartum. Following inclusion, 56 traumatized women were randomized to either treatment or to a waiting list control group. Primary outcome measures were the Traumatic Event Scale (TES) and Impact of Event Scale-Reversed (IES-R).

Treatment of nulliparous women with severe fear of childbirth via the Internet: a feasibility study.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to test the feasibility of Internet interventions among nulliparous women suffering from severe fear of childbirth (FOC) by means of an Internet-delivered therapist-supported self-help program based on cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT).

Design: Prospective, longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: A feasibility study of an ICBT program for the treatment of severe FOC in pregnant women.

Does fear of childbirth or family history affect whether pregnant Dutch women prefer a home- or hospital birth?

Objective: It is a generally accepted idea that women who give birth at home are less fearful of giving birth than women who give birth in a hospital. We explored fear of childbirth (FOC) in relation to preferred and actual place of birth. Since the Netherlands has a long history of home birthing, we also examined how the place where a pregnant woman׳s mother or sisters gave birth related to the preferred place of birth.

Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder among Swedish women: a population-based study.

Background: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is characterized by a highly distressing and impairing preoccupation with nonexistent or slight defects in appearance. Patients with BDD present to both psychiatric and non-psychiatric physicians. A few studies have assessed BDD prevalence in representative samples of the general population and have demonstrated that this disorder is relatively common.

Validation of the Fear of Pelvic Examination Scale (F-PEXS)--measuring students' fear of performing a pelvic examination.

Introduction: Medical students of both genders often show signs of fear before they perform their first pelvic examination. This situation puts a novice in a special setting of intimacy never experienced before and where different emotions may emerge. A specially designed questionnaire, the Fear of Pelvic Examination Scale (F-PEXS) has been developed to assess fear in this context.

Treatment of severe fear of childbirth with haptotherapy: design of a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Background: About six percent of pregnant women suffer from severe fear of childbirth. These women are at increased risk of obstetric labour and delivery interventions and pre- and postpartum complications, e.g.

Self-efficacy beliefs and fear of childbirth in nulliparous women.

Objective: To explore how childbirth self-efficacy, i.e. outcome expectancy and efficacy expectancy, was associated with fear of childbirth (FOC) and how efficacy expectancy and FOC, respectively were related to socio-demographic characteristics, mental problems and preference for a caesarean section.

Validation of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire in a community sample of Swedish women.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is characterized by a distressing and impairing preoccupation with a nonexistent or slight defect in appearance. Patients with the disorder present to both psychiatric and non-psychiatric physicians. A few studies have assessed BDD prevalence in the general population and have shown that the disorder is relatively common.

No relationship between fear of childbirth and pregnancy-/delivery-outcome in a low-risk Dutch pregnancy cohort delivering at home or in hospital.

Objective: To examine the relationship of fear of childbirth (FOC), general anxiety and depression during pregnancy and postpartum with birth complications.

Methods: For this prospective cohort study 105 healthy women with low-risk pregnancies (until at least 30 weeks gestation) completed the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) at 30 weeks gestation and 6 weeks postpartum. These results were related with delivery characteristics.

Swedish midwives' views on severe fear of childbirth.

Objective: To describe the views of Swedish midwives on severe fear of childbirth (SFOC).

Study Design: In this cross sectional study, a random sample of 1000 midwives, selected from the database of the Swedish Association of Midwives, received a questionnaire. The response rate was 84% (n=834), with 726 questionnaires included in the final analysis.

A randomized controlled trial of guided Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for erectile dysfunction.

Introduction: Men with erectile dysfunction are often worried about their condition, have interpersonal difficulties, and have a reduced quality of life. Internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) has been shown effective for a number of health problems but evidence is limited concerning the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Aim: The study investigated the effects of ICBT for erectile dysfunction.

Long-term coital behaviour in women treated with cognitive behaviour therapy for superficial coital pain and vaginismus.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate long-term coital behaviour in women treated with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for superficial coital pain and vaginismus. Data were taken from a questionnaire concerning long-term coital behaviour sent to 59 women who presented to Linköping University Hospital because of superficial coital pain, had been diagnosed with vaginismus, and had been treated with CBT. Data were also traced from therapy records: mean follow-up time was 39 months, the women had suffered for an average of almost 4 years, and required a mean of 14 treatment sessions.

Lifetime history of abuse, suffering and psychological health.

Background: In a representative Swedish sample, we investigated lifetime prevalence of physical, sexual and psychological abuse of women and their current suffering. The relationship between current suffering from abuse and psychological health problems was also studied.

Method: The study was cross-sectional and population-based.

"It is always on my mind": women's experiences of their bodies when living with hirsutism.

Many women suffer from excessive hair growth, often in combination with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). It is unclear how hirsutism influences such women's experiences of their bodies. Our aim is to describe and interpret women's experiences of their bodies when living with hirsutism.

Swedish midwives' perceptions of fear of childbirth.

Objectives: to describe midwives' experiences with, and perceptions of, women with fear of childbirth.

Design: a qualitative study with a phenomenographic approach. Data were collected by means of interviews in focus groups.

Post-coital burning pain and pain at micturition: early symptoms of partial vaginismus with or without vulvar vestibulitis?

Twenty-four women with partial vaginismus with or without vulvar vestibulitis participated in a semi-structured telephone interview concerning early signs and development of their pain symptoms during/after intercourse. At the onset of the problem, pain after intercourse was more common than pain during penetration. Pain intensity during penetration increased from the onset of the problem to when the women ceased having intercourse.

Post-traumatic stress disorder following childbirth: current issues and recommendations for future research.

Background: An increasing body of research shows that a proportion of women experience significant symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following childbirth.

Aims And Method: An international group of researchers, clinicians, and user-group representatives met in 2006 to discuss the research to date into PTSD following childbirth, issues and debates within the field, and recommendations for future research. This paper reports the content of four discussions on (1) prevalence and comorbidity, (2) screening and treatment, (3) diagnostic and conceptual issues, and (4) theoretical issues.