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Measuring childbirth fear

The Childbirth Fear Prior to Pregnancy (CFPP) scale measures preconception fear among adults.

The following translations have been published: German, Icelandic, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Turkish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Lebanese and Persian.

Download the English version of the survey that was used in the cross-country study here.

Bibliography

Only includes published studies that used the CFPP scale with women and/or men prior to pregnancy.

2013 -2015 (studies used 6 item precursor of CFPP scale)

  • Stoll, K., Hall, W., Carty, E., & Janssen, P. (2014). Why are young Canadians afraid of birth? A survey study of childbirth fear and birth preferences among Canadian university students. Midwifery, 30(3), 220–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2013.07.017
  • Edmonds, J. K., Cwiertniewicz, T., & Stoll, K. (2015). A survey of childbirth preferences and attitudes among young women prior to pregnancy. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 24(2), 93–101. https://doi.org/10.1891/1058-1243.24.2.93
  • Stoll, K., Edmonds, J., & Hall, W. (2015). Fear of childbirth and preference for cesarean delivery among young American women before childbirth: A survey study. Birth, 42(3), 270–276. https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12178

2016

  • Stoll, K., Hauck, Y., Downe, S., Edmonds, J., Gross, M. M., Malott, A., McNiven, P., Swift, E., Thomson, G., & Hall, W. (2016). Cross cultural development and psychometric evaluation of a measure to assess fear of childbirth prior to pregnancy. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 8, 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srhc.2016.02.004 (Article that introduced the 10 item CFPP)
  • Hauck, Y. L., Stoll, K., Hall, W., & Downie, J. (2016). Association between childbirth attitudes and fear on birth preferences of a future generation of Australian parents. Women and Birth, 29(6), 511–517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2016.05.001
  • Swift, E. M., Gottfredsdóttir, H., Zoëga, H., Gross, M. M., & Stoll, K. (2016). Opting for natural birth: A survey of birth intentions among young Icelandic women. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 11, 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srhc.2016.09.006

2017

  • Stoll, K., Hauck, Y. L., Downe, S., Payne, D., & Hall, W. A. (2017). Preference for cesarean section in young nulligravid women in eight OECD countries and implications for reproductive health education. Reproductive Health, 14(1), Article 116. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-017-0354-x
  • Thomson, G., Stoll, K., Downe, S., & Hall, W. (2017). Negative impressions of childbirth in a North-West England student population. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, 38(1), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/0167482X.2016.1216960

2018

  • Stoll, K., Edmonds, J., Sadler, M., Thomson, G., McAra-Couper, J., Swift, E., Malott, A., Gross, M. M., Streffing, J., Downe, S., & the ICAPP Study Team. (2018). A cross-country survey of attitudes toward childbirth technologies and interventions among university students. Women and Birth, 31(4), 252–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2017.10.002
  • Taşhan, T., & Uçar, T. (2018). Gebelik öncesi doğum korkusu ölçeğinin Türkçe uyarlaması: Kadın ve erkeklerde geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışması [Turkish adaptation of the childbirth fear prior to pregnancy scale: A validity and reliability study in women and men]. Acibadem Universitesi Saglik Bilimleri Dergisi, 9(4), 433–440. https://doi.org/10.31067/0.2018.43

2019

  • Stoll, K., Downe, S., Edmonds, J., Gross, M. M., Malott, A., McAra-Couper, J., Sadler, M., Thomson, G., & the ICAPP Study Team. (2019). A survey of university students’ preferences for midwifery care and community birth options in eight high-income countries. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 64(4), 444–452. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.12966
  • Weeks, F., Sadler, M., & Stoll, K. (2019). Preference for cesarean attitudes in a Chilean sample of young adults. Women and Birth, 32(6), e551–e557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2019.01.001

2021

  • Miller, Y. D., & Danoy-Monet, M. (2021). Reproducing fear: The effect of birth stories on nulligravid women’s birth preferences. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 21, Article 451. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-03944-w
  • Samios, C., Townsend, M., & Newton, T. (2021). Self-compassion predicts less fear of childbirth in childless women: The mediating role of birth beliefs. Psychology & Health, 36(11), 1336–1351. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2020.1846737
  • Sunay, Z., Altıparmak, S., Okyay, E. K., Yilmaz, A. N., & Ucar, T. (2021). The effect of midwifery students’ coping styles and moods on childbirth fear prior to pregnancy. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 14(3), 1801–1810.
  • Swift, E. M., Zoëga, H., Stoll, K., Avery, M., & Gottfredsdóttir, H. (2021). Enhanced antenatal care: Combining one-to-one and group antenatal care models to increase childbirth education and address childbirth fear. Women and Birth, 34(4), 381–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2020.06.008
  • Tomazin, K. J. C., Miot, H. A., Stoll, K., Gonçalves, I. R., Spiri, W. C., Felipe, T. R. L., & Parada, C. M. G. L. (2021). Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the childbirth fear prior to pregnancy scale in Brazil. The Open Nursing Journal, 15, 179–185. https://doi.org/10.2174/1874434602115010179

2022

  • Ataman, H., & Dissiz, M. (2022). Premenstrual syndrome and childbirth fear prior to pregnancy in young women: An association and cross-sectional study. Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira, 68(7), 898–903. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.20211211
  • Clemons, J. H., Payne, D., Garrett, N., McAra-Couper, J., Farry, A., Swift, E. M., & Stoll, K. (2022). Gaining insight from future mothers: A survey of attitudes and perspectives of childbirth. Midwifery, 115, Article 103499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2022.103499
  • Okyay, E., Ucar, T., & Tashan, S. (2022). Predictors regarding childbirth fear prior to pregnancy: A study on female and male students. Medicine Science | International Medical Journal, 11(3), 1063–1068. https://doi.org/10.5455/medscience.2021.09.296
  • Rondung, E., Magnusson, S., & Ternström, E. (2022). Preconception fear of childbirth: Experiences and needs of women fearing childbirth before first pregnancy. Reproductive Health, 19, Article 222. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-022-01512-9
  • Rublein, L., & Muschalla, B. (2022). Childbirth fear, birth-related mindset and knowledge in non-pregnant women without birth experience. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 22, Article 257. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-022-04582-6
  • Ruzgar, E., & Gurlek Kisacik, O. (2022). Pre-pregnancy fear of childbirth in Turkish nursing students: How does the obstetrics and gynecology nursing lesson affect this fear? International Journal of Caring Sciences, 15(1), 406–416.
  • Şahin, E., & Yazici, S. (2022). Effects of a parenting preparation course on preferred mode of delivery, fear of childbirth, and perception of traumatic childbirth in midwifery students. Journal of Gorgan University of Medical Sciences, 19(2), 45–53. https://doi.org/10.29252/jgbfnm.19.2.45

2023

  • Aktaş Reyhan, F., & Dağlı, E. (2023). Determination of pre-pregnancy fear of childbirth levels in Turkish and Syrian refugee individuals with no children: A comparative study. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology: X, 19, Article 100225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurox.2023.100225
  • Xu, J., Li, L., Ma, X. Q., Zhang, M., Qiao, J., Redding, S. R., & Wang, H. (2023). Fertility intentions, parenting attitudes, and fear of childbirth among college students in China: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 36(1), 65–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2022.07.015

2024

  • Mizobata, V. N., Castro, A. B., de Lima Parada, C. M. G., de Avila, M. A. G., Gibim, B. N., & Jamas, M. T. (2024). Internal structure of the Brazilian online version of the childbirth fear prior to pregnancy scale. The Open Nursing Journal, 18, Article e18744346287785. https://doi.org/10.2174/0118744346287785240122061914
  • Odabasi, N. C., Calim, S. I., & Demirci, H. (2024). Are future midwives afraid of vaginal deliveries? Journal of Education and Research in Nursing, 21(2), 143–149.
  • Tosun, H., & Uğur, N. (2024). Primary fears of childbirth of couples who have not yet had children in Türkiye. Clinical and Experimental Health Sciences, 14(4), 926–933. https://doi.org/10.33808/clinexphealthsci.1109965
  • Yetişmiş, H. Y., & et al. (2024). The relationship between midwifery students’ attitudes towards marriage and birth fears. The Journal of Health Academics, 11(1).

2025

  • Erbil, N., Boyraz Yanık, H. G., & Yıldız, G. (2025). Personality traits, stress, anxiety, depression levels, fear of childbirth, and affecting factors in Turkish university students. Depression and Anxiety, 2025, Article 5130737. https://doi.org/10.1155/2025/5130737
  • Ho, T. T., Nguyen, T. H., & Dao-Tran, T. H. (2025). The Vietnamese version of the childbirth fear prior to pregnancy scale: A validation study. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 44, Article 101120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.srhc.2024.101120
  • Surma, P., Micek, A., Bednarek-Chałuda, M., Stoll, K., & Nenko, I. (2025). Confidence in knowledge, childbirth fear, and preference for cesarean birth among Polish women: A cross-sectional study. European Journal of Public Health, Article ckaf179. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaf179