A behavioural approach towards coping with the anxieties of the pregnant woman
Pavelka, R.; Ringler, M.; Loziczky, G.
Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift 92(10): 346-351
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0043-5325 PMID: 7395221 Document Number: 162905
Pregnant women (80) were tested at the beginning of the 3rd trimester (t 1, pretreatment), a few days before delivery (t 2, posttreatment) and after delivery (t 3). Women (32) participated in a behaviorally oriented course in preparation for childbirth (EG), 19 attended a routine gymnastic course for pregnant women (CG 1) and 29 women received no treatment (CG 2). The EG was subjected to the same gymnastic exercises as CG 1, but, in addition, received relaxation training, anxiety management techniques (by desensitization), information on pregnancy and labor, as well as a good knowledge of the hospital before delivery. The different groups were chosen voluntarily by the pregnant women themselves. For that reason the different results in the 3 groups could also be considered to be due to the individual personality patterns of the patients which caused the women to select a certain group. Of many tested obstetric variables (e.g., duration of labor, use of analgesics, cardiotocogram, gestational week of delivery, infant's weight and APGAR scores) only the duration of active pushing in the 2nd stage of labor differed significantly in favor of the EG. A trend towards a higher rate of operative delivery was observed in CG 2. CG 2 showed the highest level of anxiety at time t 2 (measured by three questionnaires and a semi-structured interview), followed by CG 1. Women in the EG either maintained their basic level of anxiety or reduced anxiety significantly in some variables. This tendency is further maintained after delivery (t 3). By contrast, the women in CG 1 and, more markedly, in CG 2, were significantly more nervous, anxious and awkward, and less sure of themselves, with more general problems than the women in the EG. During labor more women in the EG were successful in controlling their pains, although in all groups a high anxiety level in any individual woman at t 2 resulted in a failure of labor control. Women attending the EG take a significantly more positive view of childbirth. In women obtaining no treatment or gymnastic exercises the experience of childbirth is predominantly ambivalent with a definite feeling of being overtaxed before delivery.