Effects of Yoga and Meditation on The Birth Process
Condition: Birth, First; Labor Pain; State Anxiety; Self Efficacy
MeSH terms: Labor Pain
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Introduction: Today it is seen that women lose their birthing strength, give the control to
      healthcare personnel during labour and the rate of c-section or interventional labour is
      increasing. For this reason, the importance of yoga, meditation and breath awareness
      practices increases during pregnancy and birth. The study was carried out as a randomized
      control trial with the purpose of examining the impact of yoga and meditation during
      pregnancy and labour on the labour process.

      Methods: The study was completed with 90 primiparous pregnant women in total, 30 in
      experimental group and 60 in control group. The data was collected using State Trait Anxiety
      Inventory, Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire A, The Childbirth Self-Efficacy
      Scale Short Form, Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire Version B and Visual
      Analogue Scale. Pregnant women in experimental group did yoga and meditation for 60 minutes 2
      times a week for 10 weeks. Innatal period yoga and meditation practices were continued in
      experimental group during labour.
    

Detailed description: 
      METHODS

      Study design:

      The present study was conducted as a randomized controlled study. The study was conducted on
      pregnant women who applied to the pregnancy school of an educational and research hospital on
      the Anatolian side of Istanbul province between October 2016 and May 2018, and who met the
      criteria for acceptance of the study.

      Setting and samples:

      All pregnant women attending the pregnancy school, who agreed to participate in the research,
      and met the research conditions within the study dates constituted the research population.
      The sampling of the study was created with the simple random method as the experiment and
      control group with individuals who met the criteria of the study and who were accepted to
      participate. In this respect, pregnant women, who were primiparous and between 20-36
      gestational weeks, who had single fetuses, expected to give birth normally and spontaneously,
      with no pregnancy complications and systemic disease, and who could speak Turkish, were
      included in the study. Power Analysis was made by using the G*Power (v3.1.7) Program to
      determine the sampling number of the study. According to Cohen's effect size coefficients and
      other calculations, it was assumed that the evaluations between the two independent groups
      would have a large impact size (d=0.50). It was also decided that there should be at least 26
      people in the groups, and considering that there might be losses in the study process, 30
      people were included in the experimental group, and 60 people in the control group, making 90
      people in total.

      For Randomization, when the experiment and control group were created, support was received
      from pregnancy school instructors and groups, and pregnant women were determined by using the
      method of envelope selection. Pregnancy school instructors asked the group volunteering to
      participate in the study to independently choose one of two blue or red colored envelopes.
      Those who chose the blue envelope formed the experiment group, and those that chose the red
      envelope were taken into the control group. The envelope selection process continued until
      the desired numbers were reached. The researcher was told advised of the groups to which
      subjects were included by the pregnancy school instructor only after the subjects were
      chosen.
    

Intervention name(s): yoga and meditation; Birth preparation training
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The pregnant women in the study group were given yoga and meditation classes, which included a total of twenty 10-week lessons, which were done by the researchers as 6-week birth preparation training, and with the onset of the birth action, birth processes were followed in the course of labour period yoga and meditation.; The control group was only given delivery preparation training for 6 weeks, and the birth processes were followed by routine follow-ups.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: The present study was conducted as a randomized controlled study.
Masking: Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: Labour Preparation Class; Labour Support; Meditation; Pregnancy Yoga