Psychometric evaluation of the wijma delivery expectancy/experience questionnaire for pregnant women in Taiwan

Background: Fear of childbirth profoundly affects women's ability to cope during pregnancy and influences birth outcomes. In Taiwan, there's a lack of validated tools for assessing childbirth fear.

Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Taiwanese version of the Wijma delivery expectancy/experience questionnaire version A (WDEQ-A) in pregnant women.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with pregnant women, using the WDEQ-A and a Visual Analogue Scale to assess childbirth fear. We employed the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale to measure depressive symptoms, anxiety, and mindfulness, respectively. We evaluated internal consistency reliability and construct validity using exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis. Pearson correlations measured the association between childbirth fear and psychological variables. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used for determining the sensitivity and specificity indices.

Results: The WDEQ-A demonstrated excellent reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93) and revealed a three-factor structure, including fear, lack of positive anticipation, and isolation. Rasch analysis supported the dimensionality of each of the three revised factors. The total score significantly correlated with depression (r = 0.56), anxiety (r = 0.19), and mindfulness (r = -0.40) (Ps < 0.001). The optimal cut-off for WDEQ-A was established at 55.5, with a sensitivity of 83 % and a specificity of 65 %.

Conclusions: The Taiwanese version of WDEQ-A proved to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing fear of childbirth in pregnant women, demonstrating excellent psychometric properties.

Implication for practice: These findings can assist midwives in Taiwan in identifying and promptly providing effective strategies for women experiencing a high fear of childbirth.