Effects of Reiki Intervention During Labor on Pain, Fear, and Birth Experience

Not Applicable

Active, not recruiting

• Conditions: Labour

• Registration Number: NCT06700473
• Lead Sponsor: Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa

Brief Summary

Childbirth is an important and often stressful experience for many women, and labor pain is common among women. While labor pain is a natural part of the birth process, its severity and management can have a significant impact on an expectant mother's overall health and birth experience. Studies examining the effects of Reiki on alleviating the pain and fear experienced by pregnant women during labor are limited. In this context, understanding the effects of Reiki practices in the birth process may be important for both clinical practice and future research.

Detailed Description

Failure to control pain can cause the mother to experience fear and stress, which can increase the risk of complications during labor and indirectly have negative effects on the newborn. There is a strong association between labor pain and fear. Fear can increase the perception and intensity of pain, making the labor process more challenging and difficult to manage. This can negatively affect the mother's overall birth experience and complicate both the physical and emotional aspects of the birth process. A woman's birth experience also has an impact on her birth memory. A positive birth experience can cause a woman to evaluate the birth process as peaceful and satisfying, which positively shapes birth memory. The use of complementary and alternative therapies is increasing every year. Although Reiki has found application in various fields, there is no information in the available literature on its use in the management of labor pain. Reiki is a complementary treatment method based on the "energy approach" and is generally recognized as safe and without side effects.

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2024-11
• Study Start: 2024-11-02
• Study First Submitted: 2024-11-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-11-20
• Study First Posted: 2024-11-22
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-11-22
• Last Update Posted: 2024-11-26
• Primary Completion: 2025-04-02
• Study Completion: 2025-05-02

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Sex: Female
• Target Recruitment: 54

Inclusion Criteria

Between the ages of 18 and 35, primiparous, singular primarily experiencing pregnancy, without risky pregnancy status (GDM, HT, etc.), during the birth week, literate Speaks and understands Turkish, 4 cm cervical dilatation

Exclusion Criteria

To have attended a childbirth preparation course, Knowledge of coping with labor pain and fear of childbirth during pregnancy, Presence of chronic disease in the mother, Previous uterine surgery, Having become pregnant through assisted reproductive technologies, Hearing problems Being diagnosed with a known serious psychiatric illness.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
labour pain	5 hours	reduction of labor pain Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (Annex-2): Visual Analog Scale (VAS) is a scale developed by Price et al. in 1983 and used to measure pain intensity and for pain monitoring. The VAS is 10 cm long and the two ends are named differently. On the scale, '0' indicates no pain and '10' indicates the most severe level of pain. VAS is a measurement tool that is frequently and reliably used to assess labor pain (Price et al., 1983; Mutlu \& Özkaya, 2021). VAS measurement data will be used to test hypothesis H1. After the primiparous pregnant women included in the study were assigned to the reiki intervention and control groups, the scale will be applied to measure the pretest data when the cervical opening was 4-5 cm before any intervention was applied and to ensure pain equivalence in the groups.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
labour fear	5 hours	reducing the fear of childbirth Birth Fear Scale (ANNEX-3): The scale was developed by Wijma (2002), and its Turkish validity and reliability was conducted by Serçekuş et al. This scale is designed to assess fear during labor and consists of 10 items. The administration time varies between 30-90 seconds. Participants are asked to give each item a score between 1 (completely disagree) and 10 (completely agree). The minimum score is 10 and the maximum score is 100; a high score indicates a high level of fear. It is very practical to administer. The scale consists of 5 positive (1, 3, 5, 7, 10) and 5 negative (2, 4, 6, 8, 9) items. Positive items are reverse scored. After the primiparous pregnant women included in the study were assigned to the reiki treatment and control groups, EK-2 will be applied during the birth process follow-up. The scale will not be applied in the 1st hour after delivery.
birth memory	5 hours	creating positive birth memory Birth memory and recall scale (BMRS) (ANNEX-4): Developed in 2014 by Foley et al. "Birth Memory and Recall Scale," In 2021, it was adapted into Turkish by Topkara and Çağan. The 7-point Likert-type scale consists of 21 items in total and has six different dimensions: "Emotional Memory," 'Ambivalent Emotional Memory,' 'Centrality of Memory,' 'Consistency and Reliving,' 'Sensory Memory' and "Involuntary Recall." The highest score that can be obtained from the scale is 147 and the lowest score is 6. High scores on the Emotional Memory subscale indicate that the mother has more intense negative feelings about the birth experience, while high scores on the Ambivalent Emotional Memory subscale indicate that the mother has more complex and contradictory feelings about the birth experience.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

İstanbul Eğitim Araştırma Hastanesi; 🇹🇷 Istanbul, Zeytinburnu, Turkey