The Chichewa Wijma delivery expectancy/experience questionnaire: a factor analytic study for postpartum women in Malawi

To test the validity and reliability of the Chichewa Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) in Malawian postpartum women.A cross-sectional study of postnatal women (The participants had a mean age of 28.3 ± 6.7 years. A multidimensional structure containing three factors - a lack of positive feelings, fear and concerns about childbirth - with an appropriate model fit was reported for the CW-DEQ version. The Cronbach's α of the CW-DEQ was 0.87. The AVE and CR values were highly acceptable in lack of positive feelings - 0.17 (0.68), and concerns about childbirth - 0.79 (0.88) factors which proved the convergent validity of each; however, was marginally acceptable in the fear factor - 0.14 (0.53). Low range of correlations between the CW-DEQ constructs (In this study, we found the CW-DEQ to be a reliable and valid tool for assessing FOB in postpartum women.