Obstetric outcome in 100 women with severe anxiety over childbirth

Background. Extreme fear of delivery with request of cesarean section is a problem. The obstetric outcome in women given psychological and obstetric support is described.Methods. Women, consecutively referred to the Psychosomatic outpatient clinic because of fear of delivery (n= 100), were compared to a matched reference group (n=100).Results. The women in the study group had higher frequency of psychic problems than the references. The majority, 68 of the women (68%) initially requested cesarean section (CS). After individualized psychological and obstetrical support, 38 of these women agreed to vaginal delivery (38%) and 30 had an elective CS (30%). In the end another 13 (13%) women had a CS for obstetric or mixed reasons. Complication rate was low and similar in the groups. The 57 women who eventually had a vaginal delivery (57%) showed an obstetric outcome similar to the reference group. They had a higher frequency of induction of labor (p=0.02), and of epidural and pudendal blocks for pain relief (p=...