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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04690881

The Effect of Psychodrama for Treating Fear of Childbirth

This study is a randomized controlled study. This research was carried out with the aim of determining the effect of psychodrama-based pregnancy education program on fear of childbirth (FOC). The population of the study consisted of 18-45 years old pregnant who with high fear of childbirth. The sample of the study was determined as 150 pregnant with confidence level of 95% and theoretical power of 95%. The pregnant women were divided into two groups of 75 pregnant. In addition to routine pregnancy training, a 90-minute psychodrama study was carried out to the experimental group. Data were collected using the information form, Wijma Delivery Expectancy/ Experience Questionnaire Version A (W-DEQ), Wijma Delivery Expectation / Experience Questionnaire Version B (W-DEQ), City Birth Trauma Scale and Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale. The data obtained were assesment using the SPSS (Version 21.0) package program on the computer.

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Key information

Conditions

Fear of Childbirth

Age range

18 year–45 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Marmara University

Istanbul, 34854, Turkey (Türkiye)

About this study

The pregnant women were divided into two groups of 75 pregnant. In addition to the 6-week routine pregnancy training, a 90-minute psychodrama study was conducted to the experimental group. The experimental group was divided into 6 subgroups and trained (min = 9, max = 14). The control group was divided into 6 subgroups and trained (min = 11, max = 14). Prenatal psychodrama is held by psychodrama psychotherapists in individual and group therapy sessions. In these sessions the pregnant mother encounters herself, her baby, her partner, her mother, her fear of childbirth and the moment of birth; she may act as protagonist in some scenes and in this way she closes any unfinished business from the past and rehearses the future in a safe therapeutic environment.Data were collected using the information form, Wijma Delivery Expectancy/ Experience Questionnaire Version A (W-DEQ), Wijma Delivery Expectation / Experience Questionnaire Version B (W-DEQ), City Birth Trauma Scale and Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale. The data obtained were assesment using the SPSS (Version 21.0) package program on the computer.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • willing to participate in the study voluntarily,
  • non-disabled (hearing, seeing, understanding),
  • having 38 or more points from Wijma Birth Experience / Expectation Scale A,
  • living with his wife,
  • primipary,
  • not diagnosed with risky pregnancy and
  • women with suitable weeks of gestation (between 20-30 weeks) were included in the study.

Exclusion criteria

  • those who were diagnosed with risky pregnancy during the training,
  • did not attend the first week of the pregnancy training program,
  • were absent for more than a week,
  • had difficulty following group studies,
  • completed the forms incompletely, and
  • did not want to continue working / gave up from the study.

Treatment and study plan

Psychodrama group psychotherapy

Behavioral

In order to reduce the fear of cihildbirth, pregnant women are given 90 minutes right after the training in addition to the routine pregnancy training. In the psychodrama-based pregnancy education program, fear of childbirth were assesment by sociometric measurement in order to increase the awareness of pregnant women about birth fear levels in the first week. Afterwards, they were given the opportunity to express themselves about the factors that may cause fear in pregnant women (their previous traumatic experiences, negative prejudices about childbirth, etc). The group members shared about their process in the first session and the session was ended. The session was evaluated with other researchers. In the following sessions, in order to strengthen their coping with the fear of childbirth, besides psychodrama warm-up games, the basic techniques of psychodrama, role switching, matching and mirror were used in protogonist works.

Primary outcomes

  1. Fear of childbirth

    Time frame: 6 week

    Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ): The minimum and maximum scores that can be obtained from the questionnaire are 0 and 165, respectively. Higher scores indicate greater levels of Fear of Childbirth.

  2. Fear of Childbirth

    Time frame: Postpartum 7-14 days

    Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire version B: The minimum and maximum scores that can be obtained from the questionnaire are 0 and 160, respectively. Higher scores indicate greater levels of Fear of Childbirth.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Postpartum posttraumatic stress

    Time frame: Postpartum 6. Months

    City Birth Trauma Scale:Total scores can range from 0 to 60. Higher scores are indicative of a greater number of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Marmara University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Psychodrama as a New Intervention for Treating Fear of Childbirth: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
Dec 31, 2020
Registry last updated
Jan 5, 2021

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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