410 Summer 2023. Volume 1. Number 4 * Corresponding Author: Kosar Miraei Mohammadi Address: Student Research Commi tee, Facul ty of Nasibeh Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. Tel: +98 (911) 1550776 E-Mail: kosarmohammadi1371@gmail.com Review Paper The Psychological Factors Related to the Fear of Childbirth: A Scoping Review 1. Department of Midwifery, Sexual and Reproductve Health Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 2. Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tufs University, Boston, United States. 3. Department of Psychiatry, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Sexual and Reproductve Health Research Center, Addicton Insttute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 4. Department of Family Psychology, Family Research Insttute, Shahid Behesht University, Tehran, Iran. 5. Department of Biostatstcs, Faculty of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 6. Student Research Commitee, Faculty of Nasibeh Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. 7. Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Shahid Behesht University, Tehran, Iran. 8. Student Research Commitee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. Zeinab Hamzehgardeshi 1 , Shayesteh Jahanfar 2 , Zohreh Shahhosseini 1 , Forouzan Elyasi 3 , Ali Zadeh Mohammadi 4 , Abolfazl Hosseinnataj 5 , Mobina Moghassemi 6 , Elahe Rahimian 7 , Forogh Najaf Tirtashi 8 , *Kosar Miraei Mohammadi 6 Background and Objectve Abnormal fear of childbirth (FOC) can leave many complicatons. Examining the factors that worsen the FOC is helpful in eliminatng or modulatng the fear. In this regard, we aim to investgate the relatonship between psychological factors and the increase of the FOC. Materials & Methods This scoping review study was conducted in 2023 by searching for related studies in databases Scopus, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, IranDoc, MagIran, SID, and Google Scholar using related keywords. Afer screening the ttles, abstracts, and full texts, 10 eligible descriptve- analytcal studies were selected. Evaluaton of their quality was done by the AXIS checklist. Results The fndings from 10 studies were divided into three groups based on the answer to the main re- search queston. Four studies showed the relatonship between FOC and depression. Six studies showed the relatonship between FOC and anxiety, and three studies showed the relatonship between FOC and self-esteem. In all students, the relatonships were statstcally signifcant (P<0.05). Conclusion Psychological factors of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem are related to the increased FOC in women. In this regard, by designing interventon programs to eliminate related psychological fac- tors, it is possible to prevent the increase of the FOC in women. Keywords Anxiety, depression, Stress, Intensity, Fear of childbirth, Pregnant women A B S T R A C T Received: 28 Apr 2023 Accepted: 23 Sep 2023 Available Online: 01 Jul 2023 Citation Hamzehgardeshi Z, Jahanfar Sh, Shahhosseini Z, Elyasi F, Zadeh Mohammadi A, Hosseinnataj A, et al. [The Psycho- logical Factors Related to the Fear of Childbirth: A Scoping Review (Persian)]. Current Psychosomatic Research. 2023; 1(4):410- 431. https://doi.org/10.32598/cpr.1.4.129.1 https://doi.org/10.32598/cpr.1.4.129.1 Use your device to scan and read the artcle online C Extended Abstract Introduction hildbirth is an exciting event for a mother [1-3], but sometimes it can be accompa- nied by worry and anxiety for various reasons which can develop the fear of childbirth (FOC) [3,4]. FOC is an unreasonable fear of labor in most preg- nant women [5-7]. Most women, especially primiparous women, experience a natural FOC due to being unfamil- iar with the labor process [8]. It is estimated that at least one out of five pregnant women has severe FOC, and 6-13% of women experience severe and debilitating fear Copyright © 2023 Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Noncommercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.