Psychological, educational, and alternative interventions for reducing fear of childbirth in pregnant women: A systematic review

Psychological, educational, and alternative interventions for reducing fear of childbirth in pregnant women: A systematic review

Objective This review aims to identify non‐medical interventions that may reduce the fear of childbirth, directly or indirectly (through its factors). Methods This review followed the PRISMA guidance and a rigorous protocol that was registered in PROSPERO. Searches were done in ProQuest, the Interna...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of clinical psychology Vol. 77; no. 3; pp. 525 - 555
Main Authors: Aguilera‐Martín, Ángel, Gálvez‐Lara, Mario, Blanco‐Ruiz, Marisol, García‐Torres, Francisco
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Wiley Periodicals Inc 01-03-2021
Subjects:
Anxiety
childbirth
Childbirth & labor
fear
pregnancy
Prenatal education
Systematic review
tocophobia
Womens health
childbirth
anxiety
systematic review
tocophobia
pregnancy
fear
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Summary:Objective This review aims to identify non‐medical interventions that may reduce the fear of childbirth, directly or indirectly (through its factors). Methods This review followed the PRISMA guidance and a rigorous protocol that was registered in PROSPERO. Searches were done in ProQuest, the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and Google Scholar. All RCTs published in the last 5 years, in English or Spanish, regarding women with a low‐risk pregnancy and without mental disorders were included. Results From 5147 articles found, only 69 were full‐text assessed. Finally, 18 studies were included suggesting that prenatal education, psychoeducation, and counseling might be effective, whereas cognitive‐behavioral therapy and some alternative therapies require more research. The results of relaxation techniques were contradictory. Results also suggest that social support and exposure (through education) might have an important role in the efficacy of interventions. Conclusions More appropriately randomized and blinded trials are necessary that use a prespecified definition of fear of childbirth and comprehensive measurement tools specific for pregnant women.
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ISSN:0021-9762
1097-4679
DOI:10.1002/jclp.23071