The aim of this study was to determine the effect of postpartum skin-to-skin contact time on fear of childbirth, birth trauma and maternal attachment.
This is a single-blind, randomized controlled trial. Data were collected from 110 women who gave birth in the gynecology clinic of a public hospital in southern Turkey between September 2021 and February 2022. Participants who met the inclusion criteria were informed about the purpose of the study and skin-to-skin contact, informed consent was obtained from those who agreed to participate, and the women were divided into groups according to a 1:1 computer-based randomization program. Data were collected at the time of consent to the study, within the first hour after birth, 24 hours after birth, 4 weeks postpartum, and 4 months postpartum. Collected by the first author. The CONSORT directive was followed in the planning, implementation and writing of the research.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
110
Skin-to-skin contact is defined as placing a naked baby on the mother's bare stomach or breast for at least one hour immediately after birth. The women in this group received 5 minutes of skin-to-skin contact as a clinic routine.
Skin-to-skin contact is defined as placing a naked baby on the mother's bare stomach or breast for at least one hour immediately after birth. In line with the recommendation of the World Health Organization, 60 minutes of skin-to-skin contact was applied to the women in this group.
Gozde Gokce Isbir
Mersin, Turkey (Türkiye)
Level of Fear of Childbirth
Women's fears after childbirth were evaluated with the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire Version B version (W-DEQ-B). This scale was developed by Wijma et al (1998) for fear after childbirth. The Turkish validity and reliability of the scale were performed by Korukcu et al. (2016). This scale consisting of 33 items is a 5-point Likert-type. The positive-meaning items are scored in reverse order. Therefore, the scores ranged from 0 to 165. The scale has no cutoff score, and high scores indicated higher fear.
Time frame: Postpartum with in 4th- 24th hours
Level of Birth Trauma
Birth trauma of women were evaluated with the City Birth Trauma Scale. City BiTS was developed by Ayers et al., (2018) to measure birth trauma. The Turkish validity and reliability of the scale were performed by Bayrı Bingöl et al. (2021). The scale is a fourpoint Likert-type instrument composed of 29 items. Higher scores reflect greater risk for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Cronbach's alpha for the original scale was measured as .92 (Ayers et al.,2018) and Turkish version was measured as 0.91 (Bayrı Bingöl et al., 2021). In this study, 6-8 days after birth to determine whether they meet the criteria for birth trauma and birth-related PTSD.
Time frame: Postpartum 4th weeks
Level of Maternal Attachment
Maternal attachment of women was evaluated with the Maternal Attachment Inventory. MAI, was developed by Muller (1994) to measure maternal attachment. The Turkish validity and reliability of the scale were performed by Kavlak et al. (2009). This scale consisting of 26 items is a 4-point Likert-type (4 = every time to 1 = any time). The scores ranged from 26 to 104 and high scores indicated higher maternal attachment. The Cronbach's alpha for the original scale was measured as .76 - .85 at different time (Muller, 1994) and Turkish version was measured as 0.77 (Kavlak et al., 2009). In this study, 6th to 8th postnatal days were used to measure maternal attachment.
Time frame: Postpartum 4th weeks
Level of Birth Trauma
Birth trauma of women were evaluated with the City Birth Trauma Scale. City BiTS was developed by Ayers et al., (2018) to measure birth trauma. The Turkish validity and reliability of the scale were performed by Bayrı Bingöl et al. (2021). The scale is a fourpoint Likert-type instrument composed of 29 items. Higher scores reflect greater risk for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Cronbach's alpha for the original scale was measured as .92 (Ayers et al.,2018) and Turkish version was measured as 0.91 (Bayrı Bingöl et al., 2021). In this study, 6-8 days after birth to determine whether they meet the criteria for birth trauma and birth-related PTSD.
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Time frame: Postpartum 4th month
Level of Maternal Attachment
Maternal attachment of women was evaluated with the Maternal Attachment Inventory. MAI, was developed by Muller (1994) to measure maternal attachment. The Turkish validity and reliability of the scale were performed by Kavlak et al. (2009). This scale consisting of 26 items is a 4-point Likert-type (4 = every time to 1 = any time). The scores ranged from 26 to 104 and high scores indicated higher maternal attachment. The Cronbach's alpha for the original scale was measured as .76 - .85 at different time (Muller, 1994) and Turkish version was measured as 0.77 (Kavlak et al., 2009). In this study, 6th to 8th postnatal days were used to measure maternal attachment.
Time frame: Postpartum 4th month