Prevalence of blood and injection phobia among pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of blood and injection phobia in an unselected pregnant population, in order to estimate the need for curative intervention programmes.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional study.

SETTING: Antenatal care clinics in the southeast region of Sweden. Sample. In total, 1,606 consecutively registered pregnant women attending their first visit with a midwife.

METHODS: The women were asked to complete the Injection Phobia-Anxiety scale, measuring phobic symptoms. Women who scored>20 on the questionnaire were telephone-interviewed and then diagnosed or dismissed according to the DSM-IV criteria for blood and injection phobia. Main outcome measures. Prevalence of blood and injection phobia according to the DSM-IV.

RESULTS: Of 1,529 women who chose to participate (92.5%), 110 women or 7.2% fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for blood and injection phobia. The mean age of the women was 29.1 years.

CONCLUSIONS: Blood and injection phobia is hitherto unreported in the literature, but seems to be relatively common and needs to be recognized during pregnancy as it causes a great deal of discomfort and fear among pregnant women. The Injection Phobia-Anxiety scale is suitable as a screening tool in an antenatal care clinic setting.