Fear of Anesthesia for Cesarean Section Among Pregnant Women: a Multicenter Cross-sectional Study

Overview

Journal Perioper Med (Lond)

Publisher Biomed Central

Date 2023 Nov 24

PMID 38001519

Authors

Ramzi Shawahna

Mohammad Jaber

Iyad Maqboul

Hatim Hijaz

Eman Arjan

Maisa Karaki

Keen Nasser

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

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.

Citing Articles

Knowledge, fear and acceptance rate of spinal anesthesia among pregnant women scheduled for cesarean section: a cross-sectional study from a tertiary care hospital in Karachi.

Shahid N, Rashid A BMC Anesthesiol. 2024; 24(1):408.

PMID: 39533188 PMC: 11555949. DOI: 10.1186/s12871-024-02736-x.

Prevalence of burnout syndrome among anesthesiologists, anesthesia technicians, and intensive care unit nurses in Palestinian hospitals: a cross-sectional study.

Hasan F, Daraghmeh T, Jaber M, Shawahna R BMC Psychiatry. 2024; 24(1):740.

PMID: 39468477 PMC: 11520787. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-06196-y.

References

Kindler C, Szirt L, Sommer D, Hausler R, Langewitz W . A quantitative analysis of anaesthetist-patient communication during the pre-operative visit. Anaesthesia. 2004; 60(1):53-9. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2004.03995.x. View

Celik F, Edipoglu I . Evaluation of preoperative anxiety and fear of anesthesia using APAIS score. Eur J Med Res. 2018; 23(1):41. PMC: 6131845. DOI: 10.1186/s40001-018-0339-4. View

Shawahna R, Jaber M, Maqboul I, Khaleel M, Abo-Mokh J, Sabbah H . Teaching approaches and satisfaction of medical students during anesthesia rotations: a multicenter cross-sectional study. BMC Med Educ. 2023; 23(1):641. PMC: 10486086. DOI: 10.1186/s12909-023-04603-8. View

Carvalho B, Cohen S, Lipman S, Fuller A, Mathusamy A, Macario A . Patient preferences for anesthesia outcomes associated with cesarean delivery. Anesth Analg. 2005; 101(4):1182-1187. DOI: 10.1213/01.ane.0000167774.36833.99. View

Shawahna R . Knowledge, attitude, and use of protective measures against COVID-19 among nurses: a questionnaire-based multicenter cross-sectional study. BMC Nurs. 2021; 20(1):163. PMC: 8422377. DOI: 10.1186/s12912-021-00689-x. View

Sumikura H, Niwa H, Sato M, Nakamoto T, Asai T, Hagihira S . Rethinking general anesthesia for cesarean section. J Anesth. 2015; 30(2):268-73. DOI: 10.1007/s00540-015-2099-4. View

Martin J, Hamilton B, Osterman M, Driscoll A . Births: Final Data for 2019. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2021; 70(2):1-51. View

Dursun P, Yanik F, Zeyneloglu H, Baser E, Kuscu E, Ayhan A . Why women request cesarean section without medical indication?. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2011; 24(9):1133-7. DOI: 10.3109/14767058.2010.531327. View

McMullan M . Patients using the Internet to obtain health information: how this affects the patient-health professional relationship. Patient Educ Couns. 2006; 63(1-2):24-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2005.10.006. View

10.

Shawahna R, Awawdeh H . Pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and barriers toward breast cancer health promotion: a cross-sectional study in the Palestinian territories. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021; 21(1):429. PMC: 8101222. DOI: 10.1186/s12913-021-06458-5. View

11.

Vandenbroucke J, von Elm E, Altman D, Gotzsche P, Mulrow C, Pocock S . Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE): explanation and elaboration. PLoS Med. 2007; 4(10):e297. PMC: 2020496. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0040297. View

12.

Al-Husban N, Elmuhtaseb M, Al-Husban H, Nabhan M, Abuhalaweh H, Alkhatib Y . Anesthesia for Cesarean Section: Retrospective Comparative Study. Int J Womens Health. 2021; 13:141-152. PMC: 7866905. DOI: 10.2147/IJWH.S292434. View

13.

Zhang J, Liu Y, Meikle S, Zheng J, Sun W, Li Z . Cesarean delivery on maternal request in southeast China. Obstet Gynecol. 2008; 111(5):1077-82. DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31816e349e. View

14.

Suka M, Odajima T, Okamoto M, Sumitani M, Igarashi A, Ishikawa H . Relationship between health literacy, health information access, health behavior, and health status in Japanese people. Patient Educ Couns. 2015; 98(5):660-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2015.02.013. View

15.

Lozada M, Nguyen J, Abouleish A, Prough D, Przkora R . Patient preference for the pre-anesthesia evaluation: Telephone versus in-office assessment. J Clin Anesth. 2016; 31:145-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinane.2015.12.040. View

16.

Betran A, Ye J, Moller A, Souza J, Zhang J . Trends and projections of caesarean section rates: global and regional estimates. BMJ Glob Health. 2021; 6(6). PMC: 8208001. DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005671. View

17.

Valenzuela Millan J, Barrera Serrano J, Ornelas Aguirre J . Anxiety in preoperative anesthetic procedures. Cir Cir. 2010; 78(2):147-51. View

18.

Kilinc M, Ozer A . Fear of going under general anesthesia: A cross-sectional study. Saudi J Anaesth. 2017; 11(1):128-129. PMC: 5292842. DOI: 10.4103/1658-354X.197361. View

19.

Shawahna R, Jaber M, Maqboul I, Hijaz H, Tebi M, Ahmed N . Prevalence of preoperative anxiety among hospitalized patients in a developing country: a study of associated factors. Perioper Med (Lond). 2023; 12(1):47. PMC: 10463373. DOI: 10.1186/s13741-023-00336-w. View

20.

Mavridou P, Dimitriou V, Manataki A, Arnaoutoglou E, Papadopoulos G . Patient's anxiety and fear of anesthesia: effect of gender, age, education, and previous experience of anesthesia. A survey of 400 patients. J Anesth. 2012; 27(1):104-8. DOI: 10.1007/s00540-012-1460-0. View