Authors (including presenting author) :
Tong WH(1), Lam KY (1), Siu KY(1), Chau MCM (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Prince of Wales Hospital
Introduction :
Information and stories about childbirth shared in the social network, and social media have an adverse impact on the mental health of pregnant women. However, most of the antenatal classes in Hong Kong are conducted in a large class, and the content is focused on medical information. Discussion to address their needs or alleviate their fear in childbirth is limited.
Objectives :
The Gentle Birth Antenatal Class is designed for the couples to work together for a calmer and positive childbirth experience.
Methodology :
This is a 2-weekend workshop with each session lasting for 3 hours. The class capacity is 30. The contents consist of 4 domains: mindfulness, hypnobirthing, childbirth massage, and infant massage. Physiological childbirth, the fear-tension-pain cycle also discussed in the class. Audio recordings of mindfulness and hypnobirthing practices are prepared for home practice.
W-DEQ is adopted to assess women's fear of childbirth. Home practice and experience during childbirth, including pain relief, are also collected.
Result & Outcome :
From 195 delivered women who had attended the class, 80.5% gave birth vaginally, which was 7.3% more than the routine care group. Their first stage of labour was shorter than the WHO standard, nulliparous and multiparous were 7.9 and 4.95 hours, respectively. 73% of women used neither Entonox nor analgesia for pain relief. 143 women completed the pre and post W-DEQ, 65% decreased fear in childbirth. The participants' feedback interactive discussions on physiological childbirth, massage, and loving-kindness were the most effective elements. Husband and professional support were the main sources of comfort measure. Subsequently were mindfulness and hypnobirthing. The participants commented the class empowered husbands in providing emotional and physical support to the women during childbirth. Self-hypnosis and massage enhanced relaxation and improved sleep quality. Practicing mindful breathing increased their awareness of the nature of the contractions and resting time in between contractions. Simultaneously gave them strength and confidence to cope with the labour pain. Therefore, the participants expected the class could be generalized and brings benefits to more women. The results proved that the interactive antenatal class is feasible in public hospitals. It demonstrated the effectiveness in reducing fear of childbirth and enhancing positive birth experience. Gentle birth class facilitated more women to experience normal physiological birth.
