The role of religious interventions in mental health and its promotion during pregnancy based on Islamic teachings

Pregnancy is an important and vulnerable period in the life of every woman that affects various aspects of her health, including mental health. Therefore, the present study was designed to review the role of religious interventions in mental health and its promotion during pregnancy based on Islamic teachings. This study is a narrative review. To compile this article, researchers have searched databases and other sources such as manual search and books. Databases include Google Scholar and more specifically SID and Noormags were searched using Persian and English keyword (Mental Health, Pregnancy, Religious Interventions and Islamic Teachings), from 2005 to 2021. The inclusion criteria were religious teachings related to mental health during pregnancy and the exclusion criteria were the lack of relevance to religious teachings. A total of 366 studies have been extracted. The extraction method was that the search was done by two researchers in two ways: screening (first stage) and eligibility of articles (second stage). In the first stage, the title and abstract were reviewed and in case of compliance and approval, the second stage, i.e. the review of the full article, was done. Finally, 20 eligible articles were included in the study. The results were classified into three categories and eight subcategories. 1- Negative Emotions (Relationship between Mental Health Disorder and Religious Teachings). 2- Positive Emotions (Happiness, Mental Peace, and Optimism). 3- Individual and Group Spiritual Therapy Based on Religious Teachings (Relationship between Listening to the Quran and Pain, Trust to God, Repetition of Recommended Recitation and Supplication. Findings show that religious teachings are useful in promoting the mental health of pregnant women. The use of spiritual healing techniques in prenatal care and childbirth preparation classes can help to expand the use of the teachings.