The Effectiveness of Reducing the Fear of Labor Pain in the Way of the Reality Therapy on the Choice of Vaginal Delivery in Pregnant Women

Vaginal delivery is one of the most stressful experiences of a mother's life. Therefore, a significant number of pregnant mothers select cesarean delivery as a method of termination of pregnancy to get rid of these conditions. Since one of the important factors in choosing cesarean in pregnant women is fear of labor pain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of reducing the fear of labor pain in the way of the reality therapy on the choice of vaginal delivery in pregnant women. The research method was semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test design, with control group. The statistical sample of study included 39 pregnant women with gestational age ≥4 weeks in Nowshahr city, in Iran. These women had chosen cesarean section method for the termination of pregnancy and were visited for Midwifery Care in the Urban and Rural Health Centers from December of 2017 to March 2018. The sample was selected targeted non-random method and randomly divided into two experimental (20) and control groups (19). The reality therapy was performed in 8 sessions of 90 minute, twice a week for the experimental group. The. Childbirth Attitudes Questionnaire (CAQ) was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). After the intervention, the fear of labor pain in the experimental group was significantly different from that of the control group (p<.05). The scores of fear of labor pain in women who decided to undergo vaginal delivery after the reality therapy showed no significant difference with those who continued to perform cesarean section delivery for termination of pregnancy. The result showed that reality therapy can be used to reduce the fear of childbirth.