Stress Ball Intervention for Anxiety, Pain, and Breastfeeding Following Elective Cesarean Section

Although pregnancy and birth are physiological processes, they create a significant burden and stress for the female body. The pregnancy period can cause permanent psychological changes as well as physiological ones. In the pre-operative period, patients experience anxiety for many reasons. In addition to general concerns such as health and surgery-related concerns, uncertainty about the end, moving away from home and loved ones, and interruption of daily tasks, there are also anesthesia-related concerns such as not being able to wake up after surgery, feeling pain after surgery, and waking up during surgery. These concerns become even more severe during pregnancy. One of the factors that increases anxiety and depression in the post-natal period is the type of birth. Anxiety and depression may develop due to complications that may occur after a cesarean section, the possibility of a delay in breastfeeding the baby, and pain. Early detection of anxiety and depression and taking precautions are important in order to increase the mother's quality of life and comfort after a cesarean section and to reduce anxiety and worry. In studies conducted to reduce anxiety and depression after cesarean section, there are studies showing that non-pharmacological evidence-based practices such as reiki, acupressure, hand and foot massage, yoga, reflexology, aromatherapy, skin contact and nursing care protocol are effective. Another effective method for reducing anxiety and pain is the stress ball. A stress ball is a soft toy that is usually no larger than 7 cm, is worn on the hand and manipulated with the fingers to relieve stress and muscle tension or to work the muscles. The stress ball, which is one of the distraction methods, is an effective method for providing cognitive focus. It has been observed that the stress ball method is used to reduce patients' anxiety and pain. There is no study in the literature examining the effect of stress ball use on intraoperative and postoperative pain and anxiety in patients undergoing cesarean section and its effects on breastfeeding. For these reasons, our study will contribute to the literature.