Effect of Hypnobirthing Training on Fear, Pain, Satisfaction and, Birth Outcomes

Fear of childbirth and labor pain are big problem that needs to be resolved as a priority since this situation continues by starting the vicious cycle of fear-anxiety-pain during childbirth. The persistence of the cycle increases the fear and pain related to childbirth, and thus delivery may result in emergency cesarean or elective cesarean. According to the data of Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), the cesarean section rate in Turkey is 53.1% and so higher than the recommended rate, even Turkey has the highest rate among the OECD countries . High cesarean rates are an important problem that negatively affects maternal and infant health and increase health expenditures and costs. Therefore, the pregnant women education programs aimed at lowering the rate of cesarean section are still important in Turkey as in other countries. While the childbirth education programs for pregnant women are not widely practiced in Turkey, the Turkish Ministry of Health (TMOH) started to provide childbirth preparation courses to reduce the rate of cesarean section in recent years. In the circular issued by the TMOH in 2018, it was determined that these programs should be managed by physicians, obstetrics nurses, and midwives. Nurses are actively involved in pregnancy training programs where different methods are applied in Turkey as well as all over the world. The most common training methods applied in other countries are Lamaze Method, Bradly Method, and Hypnobirthing. Hypnobirthing is a childbirth preparation method that aims to prepare pregnant women for delivery mentally and physically and to give birth in a less painful, conscious, and fear-free way. This method was developed based on the fear-stress-pain cycle. The persistence of this cycle exacerbates stress and pain, prolongs the birth period, and negatively affects the success, way, preference, course, and satisfaction of the birth. Thus, the birth does not proceed properly and results in an emergency or elective cesarean section. Hypnobirthing can prepare women for childbirth to eliminate all these negativities. Hypnobirthing training can be considered as a new technique for Turkey and therefore we conducted this study to determine its effects on the pain, fear, satisfaction related to childbirth and childbirth outcomes.