Reviewer’ s report
Title: Fear of childbirth, anxiety and depression in three groups of primiparous pregnant women
not attending, irregularly attending and regularly attending childbirth preparation classes
Version: 0Date: 01 Apr 2020
Reviewer: Tadayuki Iida
Reviewer's report:
Abstract, Text, Table
The "P" of significance shown in these is lower case notation.
Introduction
second paragraph: "Fear during pregnancy is manifested as fear of miscarriage, fear of fetalabnormalities, and fear of not being a good mother." References required.From the second to the third paragraph: Cesarean section was not investigated in this study. Thedescription of anxiety about undergoing a cesarean section obscures the focus of this study.MethodsStudy design and participantsregular attendance, irregular attendance：There is a need for a reason why each group was dividedat the frequency indicated. In addition, details of "attending four to eight sessions of educational"are required.exclusion criteria: It is necessary to indicate how many exclusion criteria were excluded in eachgroup. Clarify whether there are any significant differences in physical description and thegestation period in each group.
Sampling
Simple random method is used. But how many criteria are there before sampling? And, how manycriteria were excluded by the above exclusion criteria, and how many were sampled from theremaining criteria? Should be shown in a flow chart.P7: "In the present study, the reliability of this questionnaire was confirmed with a Cronbach'salpha of 0.82." References required.Data analysisPlease describe the method of multiple comparison after one-way ANOV A. Multivariate analysisrequires dependent and explanatory variables.Discussion"In the present study, the mean scores of fear of childbirth were significantly lower inthe group regularly attending childbirth preparation classes than those in the non-attending group."The reasons for this result need to be described by exploring the factors from the data in this study.Painless childbearing has not been investigated and cannot be clarified in this study. The sameapplies to caesarean section.Table1There is no notation of grouping. The p value of Education is out of position.Table2
The method of verification of "comparison between groups" is described at the bottom of the table.
Table3The notation of Variable is different from Table2. Please unify. For example, "Table2: Childbirthfear, Table3: Fear" which is correct?
Are the methods appropriate and well described?
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.
No
Does the work include the necessary controls?
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.
YesAre the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.
NoAre you able to assess any statistics in the manuscript or would you recommend an
additional statistical review?If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require furtherassessment in your comments to the editors.
I am able to assess the statistics
Quality of written English
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:
Not suitable for publication unless extensively editedDeclaration of competing interests
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following questions:
1. Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an
organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially from the publication of thismanuscript, either now or in the future?
2. Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation that may in any way gain or lose
financially from the publication of this manuscript, either now or in the future?
3. Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the content of the
manuscript?
4. Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an organization that holds
or has applied for patents relating to the content of the manuscript?
5. Do you have any other financial competing interests?6. Do you have any non-financial competing interests in relation to this paper?
If you can answer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have no competing interests' below.
If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.
No
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal. I understand that my name will be included
on my report to the authors and, if the manuscript is accepted for publication, my named reportincluding any attachments I upload will be posted on the website along with the authors'responses. I agree for my report to be made available under an Open Access Creative CommonsCC-BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). I understand that any commentswhich I do not wish to be included in my named report can be included as confidential commentsto the editors, which will not be published.
I agree to the open peer review policy of the journal