Effect of Supportive Counseling Using a Positive Psychology Approach on Improving the Severity of Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Pregnancy nausea and vomiting (NVP) are common complaints in the early period of pregnancy.

The present study aimed to determine the effects of the positive psychology approach on improving the severity of NVP.

This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 60 pregnant women with mild and moderate NVP in Zanjan province, Iran in 2020-2021. Pregnant women under study were divided into two experimental and control groups by block randomization method. Six counseling sessions were held for the experimental group regarding the treatment protocol of a positive psychological approach twice a week for 60 minutes. Data were collected using the Rhodes and demographic questionnaire and then analyzed using Chi-square, Fisher exact test, independent t-tests, repeated measure ANOVA test with a confidence level (CI) of 95% in SPSS 16 software.

As regards the demographic analysis, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. However, based on obstetric characteristics, the difference was significant between the two groups in terms of the number of pregnancies. The analysis showed that the mean (SD) severity of NVP in the experimental group was (11.60 ± 2.73) before the intervention, (5.0 ± 2.5) immediately and (3.73 ± 2.50) four weeks after the intervention. There were significant differences in the severity of NVP immediately (P values =0.014) and after four weeks of the intervention between the two groups (P values =0.031).

The use of a positive psychological counseling approach reduced the severity of NVP and improved maternal health.