A comparison of maternal fear of childbirth, labour pain intensity and intrapartum analgesic consumption between primiparas and multiparas: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Objectives To describe and compare fear of childbirth and in-labor pain intensity between primiparas and multiparas and explore the association between the amount of actual pain relief and fear of childbirth. Methods A convenience sampling method was used. A total of 260 women undergoing spontaneous or induced labor, including 97 primiparas and 163 multiparas, were recruited in a large academic specialized hospital in Guangzhou, China, from February 2018 to August 2019. The clinical data of maternal and neonatal were extracted from a structured electronic medical record system. Other demographic information, such as employment and family monthly income, was collected by questionnaire. The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and the Chinese version of the Childbirth Attitude Questionnaire (C-CAQ) were applied to assess maternal in-labor pain intensity and fear of childbirth. The analgesic consumption and the frequency of manual boluses as rescue analgesia were stored and collected from the analgesia pump. Results Eighty-two (84.5%) primiparas and ninety-nine (60.7%) multiparas received epidural analgesia (P  Conclusions Fear of childbirth is a potential predictor of labor pain intensity. Further study is needed to explore its role and value in pain management during delivery. Parity is not a determinant of pain relief use and should not be a preconceived preference of obstetric care team members to determine the distribution of epidural analgesia, especially when analgesia resources are insufficient.