Assessing fear of childbirth in Malaysia
Development and psychometric testing of the Malaysian Fear of Birth questionnaire (MyFOB)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22085262 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Aida Kalok (0000-0001-5475-093X, National University of Malaysia), Ixora Kamisan Atan (0000-0001-8447-004X, National University of Malaysia), Shalisah Sharip (0000-0002-2130-739X, National University of Malaysia), Shamsul Azhar Shah (0000-0003-0635-1816, National University of Malaysia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Pages | 1714125-1714125 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-09 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1714125 |
| PMID | 41584149 |
| OpenAlex | W7119494121 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 49 |
Introduction Fear of childbirth or tokophobia refers to the pathological fear of childbirth, which affects the daily life of pregnant women. Childbirth fear is multidimensional and differs across cultures. We aimed to develop and validate the first Malaysian Fear of Birth questionnaire (MyFOB) among the multiethnic Malaysian women. Methods The research was conducted in the antenatal clinic, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Kuala Lumpur. A mixed-methods, exploratory sequential approach was applied. Phase 1 involved a qualitative exploration of childbirth fear through one-to-one interviews, while phase 2 comprised questionnaire development based on the qualitative results, literature review and experts’ input. Psychometric properties of the questionnaire were assessed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), face validation, and reliability testing. Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to determine the model fit of the final version of MyFOB. EFA and CFA were conducted on two separate cohorts. Results Twelve qualitative interviews yielded five themes. Subsequently, one hundred thirty-seven items were generated and underwent content validation by five experts. The construct validity of the initial 43-item questionnaire was assessed through EFA. Phase 2 cohorts for EFA and CFA were 257 and 341, respectively. Principal component analysis resulted in MyFOB, which comprised 20 items accounting for 65.6% of the total variance. These items were grouped into four factors: 1) Labour & delivery, 2) Pain, 3) Maternal emotion, and 4) Healthcare professionals. The pilot study on sixty-one women revealed good reliability (Cronbach α =0.88) while confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good model fit. Discussion The Malaysian Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire (MyFOB) is a reliable and valid tool that can be utilised in routine antenatal care to identify vulnerable women
Anxiety · Childbirth · Maternity care · Pregnancy · Psychometric testing · Psychometrics · Global Maternal and Child Health · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
A Review on Sample Size Determination for Cronbach’s Alpha Test
The content validity index
Factors influencing childbirth fear among Asian women
Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of Childbirth Experience Questionnaire 2.0
Best Practices for Developing and Validating Scales for Health, Social, and Behavioral Research
How social context impacts on women's fears of childbirth
Exploratory Factor Analysis
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |