Fear of Childbirth (Tokophobia) - Etiology, Essence and Clinical Implications

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Phobias
• Interventions: Behavioral: Psychological Treatment; Behavioral: Group Therapy

• Registration Number: NCT00801970
• Lead Sponsor: Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is twofold:

* to understand the etiology and the essence of fear of childbirth

* to examine the implications and efficiency of several forms of psychological therapy.

Detailed Description

Fear of childbirth (Tokophobia) is inconsistently defined in the research literature: some define it as an anxiety disorder while it is often defined as a form of phobia; some regard only the pre-pregnancy period, some regard the anxiety during pregnancy and some focus on the labor process. Despite the high prevalence (between 13%-20% of fertile women), research in this area is scarce and the current findings are incohesive due to various conceptualizations of the phenomenon and to various measurement methods.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2008-01
• Status Verified: 2008-12
• Study First Submitted: 2008-12-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2008-12-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2008-12-03
• Study First Posted: 2008-12-04
• Last Update Posted: 2008-12-04
• Primary Completion: 2010-06
• Study Completion: 2011-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: Female
• Target Recruitment: 150

Inclusion Criteria

• subjective diagnosis of tokophobia

Exclusion Criteria

• currently undergoing psychological therapy
• Major Depression
• Acute Anxiety
• Psychosis
• Bipolar Disorder
• Suicidal
• Substance abuse
• Non-compliant personality disorder
• Health problems during pregnancy that affect perception

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: FACTORIAL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
1 - Pregnant - Tokophobic	Psychological Treatment	Psychoanalysis treatment.
2 - Pregnant - Tokophobic	Psychological Treatment	Cognitive-Behavioral treatment.
3 - Non-pregnant - Tokophobic	Group Therapy	Group Therapy

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Tokophobia existing and new measures (e.g. Pregnancy anxiety scale, Levin, 1991; Tokophobia subjective scale)	Pre-treatment, Mid treatment, End of treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
For pregnant subjects - labor preference, duration and pain medication assessment.	post-labor

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic - Sourasky Medical Center; 🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel