Abstract:

Objective: This study investigated the effect of online childbirth preparation training provided to primiparous pregnant women on the degree of childbirth fear.  Design: This quasi-experimental study was carried out with women in their first pregnancy, who were under the supervision of family physicians in a family healthcare center.  Adjustment: Childbirth preparation training was provided through an online application. The groups that received and did not receive the training were compared. Methods: A total of 38 pregnant women, who were able to participate in the training, had access to the Internet, computers, and mobile phones, and agreed to participate in the study constituted the experimental group; and 48 women, who did not meet these criteria, were included in the control group. Pregnant women with a pregnancy period of 20 weeks and longer were administered a 10-week training module. W-DEQ Version A was delivered to both the experimental and control groups as of week 29 via the online platform, and the results were evaluated in the statistics software. Results: In the study group, the mean childbirth fear score was 66.33 (experimental group: 63.5 & control group: 69.8), and 8.1% had a clinical degree of childbirth fear. Of the women who had a clinical degree of childbirth fear, 71.4% were those who did not receive childbirth preparation training. Conclusion: Online childbirth preparation classes were observed to have positive effects on childbirth fear. It is important and beneficial to continue the training online in cases where childbirth training programs cannot be administered face-to-face.

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