Effectiveness of Childbirth Education Intervention on Anxiety and Pregnancy Outcomes among Omani Pregnant Women

Aim The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of childbirth educational intervention in reducing anxiety and unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. Methods: Randomized Clinical Trial design among the Population of Omani low risk nulliparous pregnant women visiting Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) and Armed Forces Hospital (AFH). Settings Participants Antenatal Clinics and Labour rooms of SQUH AFH will be the setting of the study after the approval of Research Committee and Hospital authority. All low risk nulliparous pregnant women who are willing to participate and at their third trimester (28 - 36 Weeks) will be randomly assigned to control and intervention groups till a sample size of 100 will be reached, with 50 participants in each group. Data Collection Procedure: Initially all participants demographic data will be collected then their pre and post intervention anxiety levels will be measured using standardized anxiety scale State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The intervention group will be exposed to two sessions of video assisted childbirth education classes and each participant will be provided with Childbirth education booklet. Pregnancy outcomes of the two groups will be measured using standardized Pregnancy Outcome Check List. Main Outcomes Measured will be pre and post intervention anxiety levels and pregnancy outcomes . The results will provide investigators to develop strategies to implement the interventions in present setting and also it explores the feasibility of implementation to all Health Facilities of Oman. Data Analysis Using SPSS version 16, both descriptive and inferential statistics appropriate to level and type of data will be used to find answers to the research objectives . Conclusions The findings of the study would identify the effectiveness of an educational intervention to decrease anxiety level and enhance pregnancy outcomes, which will help in informing larger scale studies that examine the efficacy of educational intervention in decreasing the anxiety levels as well as improving pregnancy outcomes. The results would help to incorporate routine prenatal screening of anxiety and take early measures to alleviate or to reduce anxiety so as to have better pregnancy outcomes. Implementing childbirth education as a part of routine prenatal care especially to first time pregnant women promote application of evidence based practice in midwifery practice of SQUH AFH.