School of Health Sciences, Institute of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Switzerland.
Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 8;19(10):e0308480. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308480. eCollection 2024.
Antenatal education is part of antenatal care in many countries. Physical and mental preparation for childbirth and information on pain management are considered key elements of antenatal education classes. Evidence suggests that women who participate in antenatal education classes appear to benefit in terms of self-efficacy and childbirth experience. In particular, women with increased fear of childbirth benefit from trained breathing and relaxation techniques in antenatal education. However, little is known about the effect of breathing and relaxation techniques on the outcomes of healthy pregnant women without fear of childbirth or who do not have medical or obstetric risks, or on neonatal outcomes.
The aim of this study is to test whether including a breathing and relaxation technique in an antenatal education class will improve self-efficacy towards birth compared to a standard antenatal education class.
The study will be a two-armed randomised controlled trial (RCT). Healthy pregnant women between the 12th and 30th week of gestation with singleton low-risk pregnancies and who are receiving routine antenatal care will be recruited in a hospital in Switzerland. All women included will attend an 8-hour antenatal education class. The intervention group will additionally practise a breathing and relaxation technique, receive a handbook to guide their exercise practice at home, and be provided with access to an online brochure with video and audio recordings for guidance. Data on maternal and neonatal outcomes will be collected after recruitment, in the 37th week of pregnancy, and two to four weeks postpartum.
The effectiveness of including a breathing and relaxation technique in antenatal education classes on women's self-efficacy is discussed as a means to improving women's pregnancy and childbirth outcomes.
NCT06003946, SNCTP000005672.
产前教育是许多国家产前护理的一部分。分娩的身心准备和疼痛管理信息被认为是产前教育课程的关键要素。有证据表明，参加产前教育课程的女性在自我效能感和分娩体验方面似乎受益。特别是，对于那些害怕分娩的女性，产前教育中经过培训的呼吸和放松技巧会使她们受益。然而，对于没有分娩恐惧或没有医疗或产科风险的健康孕妇，以及对于新生儿结局，呼吸和放松技巧对其的影响知之甚少。
本研究旨在测试在产前教育课程中加入呼吸和放松技巧是否会比标准的产前教育课程更能提高女性对分娩的自我效能感。
这将是一项双臂随机对照试验（RCT）。瑞士一家医院将招募 12 至 30 孕周、单胎低风险妊娠且接受常规产前护理的健康孕妇。所有纳入的孕妇都将参加 8 小时的产前教育课程。干预组将额外练习呼吸和放松技巧，获得一本指导家庭练习的手册，并提供在线小册子，其中包含视频和音频记录以供指导。在招募后、妊娠 37 周以及产后 2 至 4 周时，将收集母婴结局的数据。
讨论了在产前教育课程中加入呼吸和放松技巧对女性自我效能感的有效性，以此作为改善女性妊娠和分娩结局的一种手段。
NCT06003946，SNCTP000005672。
