Investigation of the Relationship Between Dysmenorrhea, Birth Beliefs and Fear of Childbirth in Nursing Faculty Students

Abstract

AIM: To determine the relationship between the dysmenorrhea status of nursing faculty students and their birth beliefs about their planned pregnancies and their fears of birth. METHOD: The universe of the research consisted of all female students studying in the faculty of nursing in the 2020-2021 academic year between March-April 2021. No sample selection was made in the study, and a total of 521 female students were reached during the study. RESULTS: The mean age of the students participating in the study was 21.12±1.69 and it was determined that 87.7% of them had dysmenorrhea and the mean VAS score was 6.58±1.94. When the total scores of the students from the scales are examined; The mean FEDS functional sub-dimension score was 24.31±8.21, the emotional sub-dimension mean score was 19.53±8.64, and the total scale mean score was 43.84±16.03. The mean score of the natural process sub-dimension of BBS was 19.20±5.45 and the mean score of the medical process sub-dimension was 20.94±4.82. On the other hand, the mean score of FPF-PFBS was calculated as 41.64±13.34. CONCLUSION: This study emphasizes that students with dysmenorrhea in nursing faculty perceive birth as a medical process and their fear of birth before pregnancy is high.