Clinical trial NCT06813547: Emotional Freedom Techniques and Virtual Reality Application for Fear of Childbirth
Official title: The Effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques and Virtual Reality Application Applied to Reduce the Fear of Childbirth on Attachment and Mental Well-being in Primiparous Pregnant Women
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Fear of Childbirth
Mental Well-being
Attachment
Emotional Freedom Technique
Virtual Reality
Primiparous Pregnant Women
Lead sponsor: Inonu University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-02-07
Enrollment: 30
Sex: FEMALE
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Fear of labour in primiparous pregnant women is an important factor that directly affects the mother-infant relationship and the mental health of the mother. In this process, it is common for expectant mothers to experience feelings of uncertainty and anxiety about labour. Such intense fear of birth may weaken maternal attachment and make it difficult for her to establish a healthy emotional relationship with her baby. In addition, this fear may negatively affect the mother's mental well-being and increase the risk of depression and anxiety.

In this context, emotional liberation techniques (EFT) and virtual reality (VR) applications stand out as effective nonpharmacological methods used to reduce fear of childbirth in primiparous pregnant women. EFT is a technique that provides relaxation by touching the energy meridians that help the person to regulate negative emotions and cope with stress. SG, on the other hand, allows expectant mothers to interact with simulations similar to the real world in a virtual environment, providing therapeutic benefits through distraction, stress reduction and cognitive restructuring, allowing them to manage their fears about birth and enter the process more prepared. The use of SLT and SG, especially for primiparous pregnant women, can alleviate these women's anxiety about childbirth and enable them to approach the process in a safer and more conscious manner. Thus, it may also help to reduce the negative effects on the mother's postnatal attachment and mental health.

This study aims to examine the effects of SLT and SG practices on fear of childbirth, attachment and mental well-being, and to reveal the effects of these two methods on primiparous pregnant women. In this context, this study will fill the gap in the literature by providing a new perspective in clinical practice and antenatal education programmes and will make important contributions to increase antenatal attachment and mental well-being in primiparous pregnancy.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* No verbal communication problems
* Primiparous pregnancy
* 32/0-38/0 weeks of gestation
* Having a single, viable foetus
* No psychiatric disorder
* No obstetric complications
* Absence of scar tissue or an obstacle to touch at the points of EFT application

Exclusion Criteria:

* Not wanting to continue the research
* Early labour

Primary outcomes:
measure: Wijma Birth Anticipation/Fear Scale - Version A
timeFrame: 32-38 weeks of gestation
measure: Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale - WEMWBS
timeFrame: 32-38 weeks of gestation
measure: Prenatal Mother-Infant Attachment Prenatal Mother-Infant Attachment Prenatal Mother-Infant Attachment
timeFrame: 32-38 weeks of gestation
measure: Subjective Unit Experience Scale
timeFrame: 32-38 weeks of gestation
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Demographic Characteristics of Participants
timeFrame: 32-38 weeks of gestation
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Malatya
country: Turkey
facility: Malatya Training and Research Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: Inonu University
name: Zeliha Özşahin, Dr
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References:
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