Negative religious coping is associated with fear of childbirth and pregnancy distress: findings from correlational and regression analyses.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between positive/negative religious coping, fear of childbirth, and pregnancy-related distress among pregnant women.

METHODS

A descriptive correlational design was used at a training and research hospital (June 2023-March 2024). A total of 155 pregnant women completed a demographic form, the Religious Coping Scale, the Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale, and the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, t-tests, analysis of variance, and multiple regression.

RESULTS

Participants reported higher positive than negative religious coping. Fear of childbirth was moderate, and pregnancy-related distress was low. In adjusted regression analyses, negative religious coping was associated with higher fear of childbirth and pregnancy-related distress (p<0.05), while positive coping was not significantly associated.

CONCLUSION

Assessing religious coping in prenatal care may help identify women reporting greater childbirth fear and pregnancy-related distress. Spiritually sensitive support may be considered within holistic antenatal care. Longitudinal studies are needed to clarify the direction of these associations.