Tabib Mo, Humphrey Tracy, Forbes-McKay Katrina
School of Health, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.
School of Health and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Sighthill Campus, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Front Glob Womens Health. 2025 May 16;6:1597174. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2025.1597174. eCollection 2025.
There is growing qualitative evidence that antenatal education on relaxation practices can enable women to deliberately induce a deep state of emotional calmness. Learning to shift focus from distressing emotions such as anxiety and fear to this altered state of calmness may significantly enhance women's confidence, thereby protecting maternal psychological wellbeing and leading to more positive childbirth experiences. However, the generalisability of these findings remains uncertain. This study aimed to bridge this gap by using quantitative methods to validate and extend the qualitative evidence.
Through an observational study with a prospective longitudinal cohort design, ninety-one women attending a single antenatal relaxation class at a Scottish NHS maternity service completed online surveys including Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory (CBSEI), Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS), Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ), and Six-item State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6) at pre-class, post-class and post-birth.
Findings indicated significant improvements in childbirth self-efficacy expectancy, mental wellbeing, fear of childbirth, and both trait and state anxiety after attending the class, and these improvements remained stable until 4-8 weeks after birth. Women widely reported using relaxation practices, with the majority perceiving a positive influence on their pregnancy and childbirth experiences. The majority also viewed their overall childbirth experiences as positive.
Consequently, maternity services should consider reforming current antenatal education to align with these findings.
越来越多的定性证据表明，关于放松练习的产前教育能够使女性刻意诱导出深度的情绪平静状态。学会将注意力从焦虑和恐惧等痛苦情绪转移到这种改变后的平静状态，可能会显著增强女性的信心，从而保护产妇的心理健康，并带来更积极的分娩体验。然而，这些研究结果的普遍性仍不确定。本研究旨在通过定量方法来验证和扩展定性证据，以填补这一空白。
通过一项采用前瞻性纵向队列设计的观察性研究，91名在苏格兰国民保健服务（NHS）产科服务机构参加单次产前放松课程的女性，在课程前、课程后和产后完成了在线调查，包括分娩自我效能感量表（CBSEI）、沃里克-爱丁堡心理健康量表（WEMWBS）、维伊玛分娩预期/体验问卷（W-DEQ）和六项状态-特质焦虑量表（STAI-6）。
研究结果表明，参加课程后，分娩自我效能预期、心理健康、对分娩的恐惧以及特质焦虑和状态焦虑均有显著改善，且这些改善在产后4至8周一直保持稳定。女性广泛报告使用了放松练习，大多数人认为这对她们的怀孕和分娩体验有积极影响。大多数人也认为她们的总体分娩体验是积极的。
因此，产科服务机构应考虑根据这些研究结果改革当前的产前教育。
