ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Perinatal Psychiatry
This article is part of the Research TopicPerinatal mental health: Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and FearView all 33 articles
Prevalence and associated factors of fear of childbirth among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia
Provisionally accepted
Deemah A Alateeq*
Nujud Mohammed bin KhunaynRayouf Talal AlqahtaniShaden Mohammed AlqahtaniKhawlah Saud AlharbiSarah Abdullah AldossaryAljouhara Ahmed AlaasmiRawan Zuwayil AlanaziNouran AlEyeidi
Amel Fayed- College of Medicine, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Background: Fear of childbirth (FOC) is a common concern among pregnant women and can significantly impact maternal and fetal well-being. This study estimates the prevalence of childbirth fear, its determinants and correlation with depression and anxiety, and related factors among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study conducted a cross-sectional online survey of a convenience sample of 617 pregnant women in Saudi Arabia using a self-administered questionnaire collected over one month. The questionnaire included the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire (W-DEQ) for FOC and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for anxiety and depression. Results: The prevalence of high FOC was 7%. Significant associations were found between FOC and many variables, including low income (p=0.001), unstable marital relationships (p=0.001), first-trimester gestational age (p=0.04), lack of follow-up with pregnancy (p=0.001), and following up in both private and government hospitals (p=0.02). There was a weak positive correlation between FOC and anxiety, as well as depressive symptoms. Conclusion: While FOC is a notable concern, it is not pervasive among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia. Targeted psychosocial interventions for vulnerable and at-risk groups, together with improved continuity of antenatal care, are recommended, and future studies should aim to represent all regions of the country.
Keywords: Anxiety, Depression, Fear of childbirth, Pregnancy, Tokophobia
Received: 29 Sep 2025; Accepted: 09 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alateeq, bin Khunayn, Alqahtani, Alqahtani, Alharbi, Aldossary, Alaasmi, Alanazi, AlEyeidi and Fayed. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Deemah A Alateeq
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