The effect of childbirth and parenthood preparation education on maternal health needs, pregnancy-related anxiety and fetal health anxiety in primigravidas

This study was conducted to examine the effects of education on preparation for childbirth and parenthood given to primigravida on their maternal health needs, pregnancy-related anxiety, and fetal health anxiety. This randomized controlled study was carried out with 136 primigravida (69 experimental, 67 control) who presented to the obstetrics outpatient clinics of Amasya Sabuncuoğlu Şerefeddin Research and Training Hospital between September 2023 and June 2024. The participants in the experimental group were given 'childbirth and parenthood preparation education' for a month in four sessions. The data were collected using a 'Participant Information Form', the 'Maternal Health Needs Scale (MHNS)', the 'Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire – Revised-2 (PRAQ-R2)', and the 'Fetal Health Anxiety Inventory (FHAI)'. The data were analyzed using independent-samples t-tests, paired-samples t-tests, 'intention-to-treat (ITT)' analysis, Pearson's chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, and the Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test. When the MHNS, PRAQ-R2 and FHAI total mean scores of the pregnant women in the experimental and control groups were compared, it was determined that the maternal health needs and fetal health anxiety of the pregnant women in both groups were similar before the education program (p>0.05), but the anxiety levels of the pregnant women in the control group were lower than those in the experimental group (p<0.05). After the education program, the mean total MHNS scores of the participants were 60.07±1.33 in the experimental group and 98.25±1.60 in the control group, their mean total PRAQ-R2 scores were 27.13±0.84 in the experimental group and 31.48±1.29 in the control group, and their mean total FHAI scores were 11.10±0.57 in the experimental group and 15.67±0.73 in the control group, and the differences between the two groups were statistically significant (p<0.05). It was determined that education given to primigravida about preparation for childbirth and parenthood was effective in reducing their maternal health needs, pregnancy-related anxiety levels, and fetal health anxiety levels.