Fear of anesthesia for cesarean section among pregnant women: a multicenter cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Fear of anesthesia for cesarean section delivery is an important health issue that should be addressed by anesthesiologists, obstetricians, and other providers of antenatal and perioperative healthcare. This multicenter study was conducted to assess the fear of anesthesia for cesarean section among Palestinian pregnant women and to identify the predictors of high fear. METHODS: The study was conducted in a cross-sectional design among Palestinian pregnant women in different antenatal healthcare clinics. The study participants were recruited using a convenience sampling procedure. The pregnant women were asked to respond to items in a questionnaire. RESULTS: In this study, a total of 394 pregnant women completed the questionnaires. Of the pregnant women, 280 (71.1%) have had cesarean delivery under anesthesia, and 104 (26.4%) elected cesarean delivery. Multiple linear regression showed that higher fear scores were predicted by having a university degree (p-value < 0.001), living in rural areas (p-value = 0.007), dissatisfaction with social life (p-value = 0.004), satisfaction with religious commitment (p-value = 0.001), having had cesarean delivery under anesthesia (p-value = 0.005), and preference of cesarean delivery (p-value < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Fear of anesthesia was prevalent among pregnant women in Palestine. Higher fear could be predicted by education level, place of residence, satisfaction with social life, satisfaction with religious commitment, having had cesarean delivery under anesthesia, and preference for normal delivery. Anesthesiologists, gynecologists and obstetricians, nurses, midwives, and other providers of antenatal and perioperative healthcare services should consider these factors while counseling pregnant women and addressing their fear of anesthesia.