Evaluating the Effect of Hugging and Praying on Traumatic Birth Perception, Birth Pain, and Birth Anxiety

Pregnant women participating in our study will receive the intervention (hugging, praying, and hugging + praying) from the researcher or a relative as often as they wish during labor and contractions. These sessions will be administered during each stage of labor, taking into account when the pregnant woman is ready to begin the intervention.

For the hugging group, hugging sessions will be performed whenever the pregnant woman wants and during contractions, if she wishes, by a relative (husband, mother, sister, etc.) or midwife. The pregnant woman can be hugged for as long as she wants or for 5-10 minutes. For the prayer group, whenever the pregnant woman wishes, or during contractions if she wishes, a close relative (husband, mother, sister, etc.) or midwife will recite a prayer chosen by the pregnant woman, if she has one; if she does not have a preferred prayer, the first 5 verses of Surah Al-Inshiqaq will be recited:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

• When the sky is split asunder,
• And obeys the command of its Lord,
• When the earth is stretched out flat,
• And casts forth what is within it,
• And obeys the command of its Lord, every person will be confronted with what they have done! To be read together Before starting the first session, the "Information Form," "Visual Analog Scale," Traumatic Birth Perception Scale, and "Oxford Birth Anxiety Scale (Appendix 4)" will be administered. and at the end of the first, second, and fourth stages of birth, the "Visual Analog Scale," "Traumatic Birth Perception Scale," and "Oxford Birth Anxiety Scale" will be administered.

Inclusion criteria

• Age ≥18 years

• No communication barriers
• Applying to Ağrı Training and Research Hospital for normal delivery within the study dates
• Volunteering to participate in the study
• No contraindications for normal vaginal delivery (e.g., cephalopelvic disproportion)
• Being at term (38-42 weeks)
• No condition preventing praying and hugging

Exclusion criteria

• Refusal to participate in the study
• Maternal disease (heart disease, diabetes, etc.)
• Having a preterm or postterm pregnancy
• Undergoing an emergency cesarean section during follow-up
• Having a fetal malformation (anencephaly, Down syndrome, etc.)
• Not answering the questions in the questionnaire