Childbirth fear and related factors among pregnant and postpartum women in Malawi

Table 4 Relationships of baseline characteristics to childbirth fear in postpartum women (N = 153)

Variable	Low fear (n = 75)		Moderate fear (n = 63)					High fear (n = 15)
Variable	n	(%)	n	(%)^a	p	aOR (95% CI)^b	p	n	(%)^a	p	aOR (95% CI)^b	p
Age (years)
< 25	36	(49.3)	31	(56.4)	0.43	1.0 (0.4~ 2.4)	0.99	8	(66.7)	0.27	1.8 (0.3~ 11.5)	0.52
≥ 25	37	(50.7)	24	(43.6)		1.00		4	(33.3)		1.00
Parity
Nulliparous	17	(22.7)	21	(33.3)	0.16	2.1 (0.8~ 5.9)	0.16	5	(33.3)	0.38	1.9 (0.3~ 14.2)	0.52
Multiparous	58	(77.3)	42	(66.7)		1.00		10	(66.7)		1.00
Educational level
Illiterate	9	(12.0)	17	(27.0)	0.21	4.2 (1.1~ 16.3)	0.04	3	(20.0)	0.63	0.3 (0.0~ 8.4)	0.47
Primary school	52	(69.3)	33	(52.4)	0.39	1.2 (0.4~ 3.3)	0.77	9	(60.0)	0.77	2.2 (0.3~ 17.0)	0.45
Secondary and above	14	(18.7)	13	(20.6)		1.00		3	(20.0)		1.00
Employment status
No	4	(5.3)	6	(9.5)	0.35	3.0 (0.6~ 14.6)	0.17	3	(20.0)	0.07	11.8 (1.3~ 108.4)	0.03
Yes	71	(94.7)	57	(90.5)		1.00		12	(80.0)		1.00
Mode of birth
Caesarean delivery	3	(4.0)	3	(4.8)	0.83	0.2 (0.0~ 2.4)	0.23	4	(26.7)	< 0.01	8.4 (0.8~ 86.7)	0.08
Normal vaginal birth	72	(96.0)	60	(95.2)		1.00		11	(73.3)		1.00
Perineal tears
Yes	5	(6.7)	9	(15.3)	0.12	5.3 (1.1~ 25.3)	0.04	6	(46.2)	< 0.01	19.9 (2.4~ 162.7)	< 0.01
No	70	(93.3)	50	(84.7)		1.00		7	(53.8)		1.00
Social support
Low/Moderate	23	(30.7)	17	(27.0)	0.64	0.8 (0.3~ 1.9)	0.61	7	(46.7)	0.24	1.7 (0.3~ 8.4)	0.53
High	52	(69.3)	46	(73.0)		1.00		8	(53.3)		1.00

^aThe significance level of a univariate odds ratio denoted in this column if significant. ^b Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI), obtained with statistical adjustment for all of the variables listed in this table

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