International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | July 2023 | Vol 11 | Issue 7 Page 2389 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Eleke C et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2023 Jul;11(7):2389-2395 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Original Research Article Effect of antenatal group discussion on fear of childbirth among pregnant women in a Nigerian tertiary hospital Chinemerem Eleke 1 *, Ogochukwu Francisca Steve-Tamuno 2 , Ifeyinwa S. Agu 3 , Sabinah O. Ngbala-Okpabi 2 , Joy C. Samuel 2 INTRODUCTION Childbirth remains an anticipated experience for most women. 1 The physiological, emotional, and personality adaptations that result from childbirth are profound. 2,3 Given that women are socially expected to undergo childbirth, some women become anxious about it. 4 In many cultures, women employ coping strategies such as seeking support from more experienced local women and midwives for antenatal care. 5 Antenatal care (ANC) is a common method for preparing pregnant women for childbirth. 6 It was recommended by the World Health Organization to improve the health of pregnant women and their unborn child and is offered in two modalities namely individual and group ANC. 7 The individual ANC model comprises a first visit involving comprehensive history taking and health examination, followed by 13 one-on-one private consultations with the physician/midwife. 8 The group ANC model combines a minimum of six Antenatal Group Discussion (AGD) sessions, with all features of the individual ANC model. 7 1 Department of Nursing Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria 2 Department of Midwifery and Child Health, World Bank Africa Centre of Excellence for Public Health and Toxicology Research, Port Harcourt, Nigeria 3 Department of Nursing Sciences, Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria Received: 11 May 2023 Accepted: 07 June 2023 *Correspondence: Dr. Chinemerem Eleke, E-mail: chinemerem.eleke@uniport.edu.ng Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: Antenatal group discussions (AGDs) are utilized in antenatal peer support. Its application in controlling fear of childbirth (FOC) has not been widely studied in Africa. We examined the effect of AGDs on FOC among pregnant women. Methods: This experiment was done between in 2020 at a teaching hospital in Nigeria. We randomly assigned 218 consenting primigravid women into treatment (n = 111) and control groups (n = 107) and followed them from 31 to 38 weeks of gestation. The treatment group had one AGD session per week for 6 weeks, with each session lasting 120 minutes. The control group had no AGDs. The FOC Questionnaire was used for collecting data at 31 and 38 weeks of gestation. Inferential statistics were used for data analyses at a 5% significance level using SPSS 21. Results: At 31 weeks of pregnancy, 80.2% and 72.9% of participants in the treatment and control groups had unhealthy FOC (range 5 - 9) with no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.204). At 38 weeks, FOC was significantly less in the treatment group compared to the control group (17.1% vs. 48.6%, p<0.001). The AGD reduced the likelihood of unhealthy FOC by 65.0% (RR: 0.35, 95%CI: 0.22 - 0.55). Conclusions: Participation in AGDs reduced FOC among pregnant women, hence recommended. The current caesarean statistics may further reduce if pregnant women were encouraged to utilize AGDs. Keywords: Fear, Hospital, Mastoid process, Pregnancy, Pregnant women, Prenatal care DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20232076