Association between lumbopelvic pain in pregnancy and fear of childbirth: a multicenter cross-sectional case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Fear of childbirth is a common occurrence during pregnancy, causing unnecessary caesarean sections due to anxiety and pain catastrophizing. Lumbopelvic pain is also very prevalent during pregnancy and similarly linked to anxiety and pain catastrophizing. Although these two issues appear to have commonalities, their relationship has not been explored yet. This study aims to investigate the potential correlation between fear of childbirth and lumbopelvic pain during pregnancy, addressing a gap in the current literature. METHODS: Online surveys were emailed to pregnant women with lumbopelvic pain (n = 216) and without it (n = 207). We extracted our primary outcome, fear of childbirth, along with secondary variables including anxiety, depression, kinesiophobia, and catastrophizing. RESULTS: Pregnant women with lumbopelvic pain had significantly higher fear of childbirth compared to those without lumbopelvic pain (p = 0.002). Moreover, fear of childbirth showed a significant positive correlation with anxiety, depression, kinesiophobia, and catastrophizing (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Pregnant women with lumbopelvic pain experience higher levels of fear of childbirth compared to those without lumbopelvic pain.  TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov under the identification number NCT05976854 on 10/08/2023.