Future anxiety as a predictor of the fear of childbirth

The fear of childbirth is an emotional phenomenon, the mild symptoms of which are felt by most women, independently of their condition and stage of their pregnancy. The fear ofchildbirth is a variable which according to most research results has a negative influence on procreation decisions, the course of pregnancy and the childbirth. A group of Polishwomen (N = 350) was examined. Woman participants were invited for research by gynaecological clinics. They filled in the questionnaire which includes Fear of Childbirth (Putyński,1997), Future anxiety (Zaleski, 1996) Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999), obstetric and sociodemographic questions. The regression analysishas been made testing to what extent the obstetric, sociodemographic and psychological factors explain the occurrence of the fear of childbirth. The obtained data make it possibleto differentiate the temporal orientation, future anxiety, as psychological variables having the biggest influence on the fear of childbirth