The Effect of Lullaby Intervention on Anxiety and Prenatal Attachment in Women With High-risk Pregnancy: A Randomised Controlled Study

Women with high-risk pregnancy may experience anxiety and low prenatal attachment due to many problems with pregnancy and hospitalization. It is reported that anxiety can have negative effects on prenatal attachment. The anxiety during pregnancy may adversely affect the health of the pregnant woman and fetus.

During the study period, 777 pregnant women were admitted to the clinic and 125 of them with high-risk pregnancy were assessed for eligibility for the study on 2 days a week. The pregnant women (n=76) who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study were recruited. Participants were randomized in equal numbers to the intervention (n=38) and control groups (n=38) by withdrawing computer randomized sampling numbers (using Microsoft Excel 2010) from concealed envelopes to determine their group status. Participants were numbered according to their order of admittance to the hospital. After obtaining informed content and collecting baseline data, main researcher randomly chose one code for each woman. Data was collected together until the sample size was reached.

Participants were recruited by simple random sampling from the perinatology clinic at a state hospital in Turkey. An estimation of sample size was calculated at an effect size of 2.43 with a 5% level of significance on the primary outcome of anxiety in a sample study. According to G*power 3.1 31, each group required 30 participants. During the study, 125 women were assessed for eligibility, 49 of them were excluded. Some participants withdrew due to preterm birth (n=5), referral to another hospital (n=1) or discharged from hospital (n=10). Finally 60 participants who completed the lullaby intervention were included in data analysis. As a result of the study, the power of the test (α=0.05, 95% confidence interval) was 99.9% for each group n=30.

The preliminary study included five women at risk of preterm delivery who met the inclusion criteria. They were subjected to a lullaby intervention, and their study variables were evaluated. The women in the preliminary study were not included in the main study.

The IG listened to lullabies, and accompanied by lullabies touched their abdomen and thought about their babies. The CG received only the usual care of the hospital.