Fear of childbirth  and its relationship with anxiety and depression among Iranian fathers: a cross-sectional study

Background: In addition to mothers, fathers may find the perinatal period difficult and complicated and experience a wide variety of emotions such as fear, anxiety, and depression. These emotional changes can adversely affect a father’s relationships with his infant and wife. Although most of the mental health problems experienced by fathers have generally been assessed in developed countries, there are insufficient data in developing countries. Hence, this study aimed to determine the fear of childbirth and its relationships with anxiety and depression among Iranian fathers. Methods: : In this cross-sectional study, the cluster sampling method was employed to enroll 302 husbands of pregnant women visiting health centers in Tabriz, Iran, in 2022. The data collection tools were the Sociodemographic and Obstetric Characteristics Questionnaire, Paternal Fear of Childbirth Scale, Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). To assess the relationships of fear of childbirth with depression and anxiety, Pearson correlation tests was conducted in a bivariate analysis, and the general linear model (GLM) (with adjusting sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics) was employed in a multivariate analysis. Results: : The mean (±SD) of paternal fear of childbirth score was 48.39 (±14.10) within the possible 17–85 range. According to Pearson correlation test results, fear of childbirth had significant direct correlations with depression (P< 0.001; r= 0.47), state anxiety (P< 0.001; r= 0.60), and trait anxiety (P< 0.001; r= 0.51). The adjusted GLM results indicated that an increase in fear of childbirth score significantly increased depression (B= 0.18; 95% CI:0.13 to 0.22; P< 0.001), state anxiety (B= 0.45; 95% CI: 0.38 to 0.53; P< 0.001), and trait anxiety (B= 0.35; 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.42; P< 0.001) scores obtained from participants. Conclusions: : The research results indicated that paternal fear of childbirth significantly affected paternal anxiety and depression levels in the perinatal period. Therefore, it is recommended to develop comprehensive programs to screen fathers for fear of childbirth and psychological problems and to implement appropriate preventive and therapeutic interventions.