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Background: The increasing prevalence of postpartum anxiety as a common psychological problem affects a large part of women's lives. Despite the existence of tools in this field, but due to the lack of specificity in reflecting postpartum anxiety, it is necessary to have a specific tool to screen it. Since the psychometric evaluation of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale-Research Short-Form (PSAS-RSF) among Iranian women has not been assessed in Iran until now, so we decided to conduct this study with the aim of psychometric evaluation of the PSAS-IR-RSF., Methods: We included 180 women (six weeks to six months postpartum) in the study by random sampling during the period from December 2021 to June 2022. We examined the validity of the PSAS-IR-RSF tool in terms of face, content and construct (through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses). We used internal consistency and test-retest reliability to determine the reliability of the scale., Results: In the present study, content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) of the PSAS-IR-RSF tool were equal to 0.91 and 0.97, respectively. We extracted a four-factor structure through the process of exploratory factor analysis. The values of fitting indices confirmed the validity of the model. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was equal to 0.72 and intra-class correlation coefficient (with 95% confidence interval) was 0.97 (0.98 to 0.93)., Conclusions: The Persian version of the PSAS-IR-RSF is a valid and reliable tool for the specific evaluation of postpartum anxiety among Iranian women., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: The prevalence of cesarean birth in Iran is very high. Having a negative childbirth experience is one of the reasons that primiparous women provide to prefer caesarean birth over a vaginal birth. This study is aimed to understand women's perspective on what determines a positive or negative birth experience for them., Methods: This qualitative study is a part a mixed method study that was conducted among primiparous women with a previous vaginal birth experience. The purpose of the main study was to develop a guideline based on Iranian primiparous women's birth experiences. The quantitative phase of the study was a cross-sectional study where women's childbirth experiences was measured in a survey via the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire-2. In the qualitative part of the study, women were invited for an in-depth interview via a random stratified sampling method based on their childbirth mean score (women with 10% of the upper bound score which indicated a positive birth experience and 10% of the lower bound indicating negative birth experience, n = 17). Conventional content analysis was used for data analysis., Results: We extracted three main themes: (a) "Internal control", (b) "External control", and (c) "Support". Possessing internal control, having a balanced external control to feel cared and feeling supported were the main reasons for women to feel positive about their birth experiences. Whereas, loss of internal control, imbalanced external control and unsupportive environment were related to their negative childbirth experiences., Conclusion: Considering that women's sense of control, the care and support that they receive can influence their childbirth experiences, there is a need for changing maternity policies and practices to highlight the importance of a woman-centred care to create a pleasant, respectful and positive memory for primirparous women who experience normal vaginal births., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: The aim of this study was to compare fear of childbirth, state and trait anxiety, and childbirth self-efficacy among primiparous and multiparous women in Ahvaz, southwest of Iran., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 200 pregnant women (100 primiparous and 100 multiparous women) who had been admitted to the maternity ward of hospitals affiliated to Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. The instruments used for data collection in this study included a demographic questionnaire, Delivery Fear Scale (DFS), Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory (CBSEI). The data were analyzed by chi-square test and independent t-test. Also, the univariate general linear model was used by adjusting for the socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics that were considered as possible confounding variables., Results: The mean score of DFS in primiparous women was significantly higher than that of multiparous women. The mean of the overall score of childbirth self-efficacy of primiparous women was significantly lower than that of multiparous women. The mean score of the outcome expectancies and self-efficacy expectancies was significantly lower in primiparous women compared with multiparous women. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the mean score of STAI. After adjusting for possible confounding variables, the differences between the two groups in terms of fear of childbirth scores, overall childbirth self-efficacy score and self-efficacy expectancies remained significant., Conclusion: Given the high fear of childbirth and low childbirth self-efficacy in primiparous women compared to the multiparous women, appropriate interventions should be adopted by health care providers in order to reduce fear and improve childbirth self-efficacy in primiparous women., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health disorders among mothers during the postpartum period, which can lead to maternal and infant physical and psychological consequences. The Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS) predicts unique variance in postnatal outcomes over and above general anxiety tools. It has never been used in Iran and its validity and reliability have not been assessed either. Therefore, the present study aimed to translate and investigate the psychometric properties of the PSAS-IR., Methods: 510 women, from six weeks to six months postpartum, were selected through random sampling in 2020. After forward and back-translation, the face validity, content validity, and construct validity of PSAS (through confirmatory factor analysis) were examined. The reliability of the scale was assessed using both internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and test-retest stability methods., Results: CVI and CVR values of the PSAS tool were 0.89 and 0.88, respectively. The good fit indices confirmed the validity of four-factor structure. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and Intra Correlation Coefficient (ICC) equaled 0.93 and 0.92, respectively., Conclusion: The Persian version of PSAS is a valid and reliable four-factor scale, it will improve the measurement of postpartum anxiety in an Iranian setting. This will improve the measurement of postpartum anxiety in an Iranian setting., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of delivery fear scale (DFS) among Iranian women population., Methods: This is a methodological study that was conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of DFS. Convenience sampling was used to select 200 pregnant women from the maternity ward of Razi Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran. In the first step, the scale was translated into Persian using backward-forward translation method. Afterwards, the following types of validity were examined: face validity based on impact score, construct validity based on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and concurrent validity. The Pearson correlation test was used to determine the correlation of DFS with pregnancy-related anxiety questionnaire (PRAQ), Childbirth Attitude Questionnaire (CAQ), Spielberger's state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI), and the short form of Lowe's childbirth self-efficacy inventory. Reliability of DFS was assessed by determining internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and split-half method., Results: CFA had satisfactory validity considering x 2 ⁄df < 5 and the RMSEA < 0.08. /the obtained Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.77. The split-half coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.83, indicating an acceptable reliability for the questionnaire. The results showed that DFS had a direct significant correlation with the CAQ (r = 0.72), PRAQ (r = 0.74), STAI-Y1 (r = 0.71) and STAI-Y1 (r = 0.63) and a reverse significant correlation with subscales of the short form of Lowe's childbirth self-efficacy inventory including outcome expectancy (r= -0.75) and self-efficacy expectancy (r= -0.76)., Conclusions: The findings of the present study confirm the validity and reliability of the Persian version of DFS as an instrument for measuring fear of childbirth (FOC) in Iranian women population.

Background: Given the importance of the childbirth experience, its effects on women's life and society, and the need for its assessment by accurate instruments, this study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Questionnaire for Assessing the Childbirth Experience (QACE) in an Iranian women population., Methods: The validity of the Farsi edition of the questionnaire was assessed using the opinions of eight experts. Its construct validity was assessed by studying 530 mothers, at 1-4-month postpartum, who delivered in health centers of Tabriz, Iran. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to identify its factors. Then, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed for the structural assessment of the extracted factors. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to investigate the correlation between factors. Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to obtain the internal consistency and test-retest reliability., Results: In total, four factors were extracted from the EFA: "relationship with staff" (4 questions), "first moments with the newborn" (3 questions), "feelings at one-month postpartum" (3 questions), and "emotional status" (3 questions). According to the CFA, the model achieved desired fit level (RMSEA < 0.08, GFI, CFI, IFI > 0.90, and x 2 /df < 5.0). Cronbach's alpha (0.77-0.82) and intraclass correlation coefficient index (0.83-0.98) were desirable for all factors., Conclusion: The short edition of the QACE, as a standard tool, can be used by future studies to measure the experience of Iranian women.

Background: Assessing women's childbirth experiences is a crucial indicator in maternity services because negative childbirth experiences are associated with maternal mortalities and morbidities. Due to the high caesarean birth rate in Iran, measuring childbirth experience is a top priority, however, there is no standard tool to measure this key indicator in Iran. The aim of present study is to adapt the "Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2.0" to the Iranian context and determine its psychometric characteristics., Methods: Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2.0 was translated into Farsi. A total of 500 primiparous women, at 4 to 16 weeks postpartum, were randomly selected from 54 healthcare centres in Tabriz. Internal consistency and reliability was calculated using the Cronbach's Coefficient alpha and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, respectively. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and discriminant validity using the known-group method and the Mann-Whitney U-test., Results: The internal consistency and reliability for the total tool were high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93; Intraclass Correlation Coefficient = 0.97). Explanatory factor analysis demonstrated the adequacy of the sampling (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin = 0.923) and significant factorable sphericity (p < 0.001). Confirmation factor analysis demonstrated acceptable values of fitness (RMSEA = 0.07, SRMSEA = 0.06, TLI = 0.97, CFI > 0.91, x 2 / df = 4.23). Discriminatory validity of the tool was confirmed where the CEQ score and its subdomains were significantly higher in women who reported having control over their childbirth than women who did not., Conclusion: The Farsi version of the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2.0 tool is a valid and reliable tool and can be used to measure the childbirth experience in Iranian women.