The effect of acupressure applied to primiparous women during episiotomy repair on pain and anxiety level

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the effects of acupressure applied during episiotomy repair on pain and anxiety levels of primiparous women. Material and Method: This research was conducted with 126 women (63 acupressure, 63 controls) with pregnant women who applied to Kahramanmaraş-Pazarcık State Hospital between April and December 2023. Acupressure was applied to the acupressure group twice (during internal suturing and skin suturing) during episiotomy repair. While VAS was applied a total of four times, before and after the intervention, to evaluate the pain score of the participants, STAI was used after the second attempt to evaluate the anxiety level of the participants. Results: It was determined that the differences between the mean scores of the episiotomy length, episiotomy depth, and repair time of the pregnant women in the acupressure and control groups were not statistically significant (p>0.05). After the first and second acupressure, it was determined that the VAS pain levels of the acupressure group decreased statistically significantly compared to the control group (p<0.001). After the second acupressure, it was determined that the anxiety level mean scores of the acupressure group were lower than the control group and the difference between the groups was statistically significant in favor of the acupressure group (p<0.001). Conclusion: Acupressure applied during episiotomy repair was found to reduce pain and anxiety levels in primiparous. Key Words: Acupressure, episiotomy, pain, anxiety, primiparous, midwifery