Investigating the Effectiveness of Art Therapy Based on Painting on Sleep Quality of Pregnant Women

Various factors, such as pregnancy, can lead to irregular sleep patterns. Sleep disturbances are common during pregnancy, leading to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of art therapy based on painting on the sleep quality of pregnant women in the third trimester.

This was a quasi-experimental study followed by a pre-test, post-test design and a control group. The statistical population included pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy who were referred to 22 Bahman Health Center of Kerman City, Iran, in 2019. According to the inclusion criteria, 34 individuals were selected via the convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into the experimental (n=17) and the control group (n=17). To collect the data, we used the Pittsburgh sleep quality index. Then, twelve 90-min sessions of art therapy based on painting were carried out on the experimental group. After completing these sessions, we conducted a post-test. Data analysis was performed by multivariate analysis of covariance and the Bonferroni post hoc test in the SPSS software, version 26.

Art therapy based on the painting had significant effects on sleep quality and its components (P<0.001), while no significant differences were found in the control group (P>0.05).

Art therapy based on painting can effectively improve pregnant women’s sleep quality. Accordingly, applying this method is recommended to improve the status of these individuals.