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Expecting the worst: pain catastrophizing and intolerance of uncertainty in women with fear of childbirth.

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Title: Expecting the worst: pain catastrophizing and intolerance of uncertainty in women with fear of childbirth.
Authors: Flink, Ida (AUTHOR), Al-Khafadji, Maryam (AUTHOR), Ring, Sofia (AUTHOR), Grundström, Hanna (AUTHOR), Nieminen, Katri (AUTHOR), Ternström, Elin (AUTHOR), Rondung, Elisabet (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology. Dec2025, Vol. 46 Issue 1, p1-6. 6p.
Subjects: Fear of childbirth, Pain catastrophizing, Nulliparas, Multiparas, Cognitive psychology, Pregnancy, Ambiguity tolerance, Therapeutics
Abstract: Fear of childbirth (FOC) is associated with adverse outcomes, for the expecting woman as well as for her baby. In order to prevent and treat FOC, it is important to understand the psychological processes involved. Two potential key processes are intolerance of uncertainty and pain catastrophizing. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore intolerance of uncertainty and pain catastrophizing in pregnant individuals with severe vs. low/moderate FOC, and potential differences between nulliparas and multiparas. The sample of 332 individuals filled out a range of questionnaires, and were categorized as severe (n = 66) and low/moderate (n = 266) FOC. The results showed that participants with severe FOC (Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire, W-DEQ ≥85) reported higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty and pain catastrophizing than participants with low/moderate FOC. We did not find any significant differences between nulliparas and multiparas. Noteworthy, levels of pain catastrophizing in the severe FOC group were similar to those reported in chronic pain samples. Although we cannot draw any conclusions about causality or direction of proposed links, these findings warrant a need for identifying and developing treatment strategies to target intolerance of uncertainty and pain catastrophizing, in both nulliparas and multiparas with high levels of FOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Expecting the worst: pain catastrophizing and intolerance of uncertainty in women with fear of childbirth.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Psychosomatic+Obstetrics+%26+Gynecology%22">Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 46 Issue 1, p1-6. 6p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fear+of+childbirth%22">Fear of childbirth</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pain+catastrophizing%22">Pain catastrophizing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nulliparas%22">Nulliparas</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multiparas%22">Multiparas</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+psychology%22">Cognitive psychology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pregnancy%22">Pregnancy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ambiguity+tolerance%22">Ambiguity tolerance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Therapeutics%22">Therapeutics</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Fear of childbirth (FOC) is associated with adverse outcomes, for the expecting woman as well as for her baby. In order to prevent and treat FOC, it is important to understand the psychological processes involved. Two potential key processes are intolerance of uncertainty and pain catastrophizing. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore intolerance of uncertainty and pain catastrophizing in pregnant individuals with severe vs. low/moderate FOC, and potential differences between nulliparas and multiparas. The sample of 332 individuals filled out a range of questionnaires, and were categorized as severe (n = 66) and low/moderate (n = 266) FOC. The results showed that participants with severe FOC (Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire, W-DEQ ≥85) reported higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty and pain catastrophizing than participants with low/moderate FOC. We did not find any significant differences between nulliparas and multiparas. Noteworthy, levels of pain catastrophizing in the severe FOC group were similar to those reported in chronic pain samples. Although we cannot draw any conclusions about causality or direction of proposed links, these findings warrant a need for identifying and developing treatment strategies to target intolerance of uncertainty and pain catastrophizing, in both nulliparas and multiparas with high levels of FOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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        Value: 10.1080/0167482X.2025.2507400
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Pain catastrophizing
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      – SubjectFull: Nulliparas
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Multiparas
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      – SubjectFull: Cognitive psychology
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      – SubjectFull: Pregnancy
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      – SubjectFull: Ambiguity tolerance
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      – SubjectFull: Therapeutics
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      – TitleFull: Expecting the worst: pain catastrophizing and intolerance of uncertainty in women with fear of childbirth.
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            NameFull: Flink, Ida
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              M: 12
              Text: Dec2025
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              Y: 2025
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