Clinical trial NCT04173351: The Effects of Antenatal Education and Counseling on Childbirth Fear of Nulliparous Women
Official title: The Effects of Antenatal Education and Counseling on Childbirth Fear of Nulliparous Women and Their Attitudes Towards Childbirth
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Fear of Childbirth
Keywords: childbirth
nulliparous
childbirth fear
antenatal education
counseling
attitude
pain
Lead sponsor: Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi Gulhane Tip Fakultesi
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2019-11-21
Enrollment: 132
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 35
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: This randomized controlled study was conducted at Gulhane Training and Research Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic between February 2016 and January 2017. The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) guidelines for reporting randomised controlled trials (RCTs) has been used to describe the methods.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: This study investigates the effects of antenatal education and counseling on childbirth preparation and pain management given to nulliparous women during the last trimester on their childbirth fear and childbirth attitudes.

Detailed description: Pregnancy is an important period of life that the pregnant women have biological, physiological, emotional and social changes in order to adapt to maternity. Fear of childbirth is a common problem and has a negative impact on the childbirth experience. The prevalence of fear associated with childbirth is around 20% but approximately 6 to 10% of women experience intense fear of labour. In Turkey, it estimated that the prevalence of childbirth fear among the Turkish pregnant women was approximately 21% . Fear of childbirth can cause significant problems during childbirth and the postpartum period. This fear is commonly associated with concern for the baby, pain in childbirth, longer first and second stage of labour and dissatisfaction with the childbirth experiences. Especially nulliparous women experience fear of childbirth more than multipar women. Fear of childbirth has also been implicated in women's requests for caesarean sections and increased rate of elective caesarean sections. Antenatal education is an essential health service throughout the world. Antenatal education during the last trimester may decrease childbirth fear. Also, pregnant women who received antenatal education, had a positive birth experience, better maternal adjustment and fewer symptoms of postnatal depression. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of antenatal education and counseling on childbirth preparation and pain management given to nulliparous women during the last trimester on their childbirth fear and childbirth attitudes.

This randomized controlled study was conducted at Gulhane Training and Research Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic between February 2016 and January 2017. 132 nulliparous women between the 28th and 34th gestational weeks constituted the sample of the study. Data was collected by using personal information questionnaire, the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionairre (W-DEQ) Version A, W-DEQ Version B, and Childbirth Attitudes Questionairre (CAQ). Following the pretest, participants in the intervention group received childbirth preparation education and telephone counseling. Participants in the control group received no intervention other than the routine antenatal follow-up. For both groups, pretest and posttest were conducted during the same days, antenatal evaluation took place between the 38th and the 40th gestational weeks and postnatal evaluation was conducted during the first and the second postnatal days. The IBM SPSS (Statistical package for the Social Sciences) 22.0 package program was used to evaluate the data obtained in the study.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Nulliparity
* 28-34th gestational age
* Single fetus
* not receive IVF treatment
* Normal vaginal birth

Exclusion Criteria:

* Caesarean section

Primary outcomes:
measure: Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionairre (Version A) (W-DEQ-A)
timeFrame: 10 minutes
measure: Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionairre (Version B) (W-DEQ-B)
timeFrame: 10 minutes
measure: Childbirth Attitudes Questionnaire (CAQ)
timeFrame: 5 minutes
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Health Sciences, Gulhane Faculty of Nursing
name: Gulten Guvenc, Prof. Dr.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
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citation: Fenwick J, Toohill J, Gamble J, Creedy DK, Buist A, Turkstra E, Sneddon A, Scuffham PA, Ryding EL. Effects of a midwife psycho-education intervention to reduce childbirth fear on women's birth outcomes and postpartum psychological wellbeing. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2015 Oct 30;15:284. doi: 10.1186/s12884-015-0721-y.
citation: Deliktas A, Kukulu K. Pregnant Women in Turkey Experience Severe Fear of Childbirth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Transcult Nurs. 2019 Sep;30(5):501-511. doi: 10.1177/1043659618823905. Epub 2019 Jan 17.
citation: Karabulut O, Coskuner Potur D, Dogan Merih Y, Cebeci Mutlu S, Demirci N. Does antenatal education reduce fear of childbirth? Int Nurs Rev. 2016 Mar;63(1):60-7. doi: 10.1111/inr.12223. Epub 2015 Nov 27.