ArticleFrontiers in psychology2020
Effect of Psychotherapy on Reduction of Fear of Childbirth and Pregnancy Stress: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- The efficacy of collaborative psychological interventions in reducing anxiety levels in pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions on fear of childbirth for pregnant women: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions for fear of childbirth including tocophobia.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- The effect of midwifery-led counseling on expectant fathers' fear of childbirth: a smartphone- based randomized controlled trial.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Trial
- A prospective study of periconceptional perceived stress and rate of miscarriage.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- The effectiveness of counseling with a motivational interview approach on health-promoting lifestyles in preventing excessive weight gain in pregnant women: Study protocol.Journal of education and health promotion · 2026Article
- Challenges in traumatic spinal cord injury care in developing countries - a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Consumer Expectations and Attitudes About Psychotherapy: Survey Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- The Role of Psychodrama in Reducing Cesarean Rates and Fear of Childbirth.International journal of community based nursing and midwifery · 2023Article
- Treatment of Pregnant Women With Fear of Childbirth Using EMDR Therapy: Results of a Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe fear of childbirth (FOC) has an adverse effect on the physical and mental health of pregnant women and increases adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Previous research reported the effect of psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation therapies, and short-term psycho-educational intervention on FOC. We examined whether adding motivational interviewing (MI) psychotherapy to prenatal usual care (PUC) is superior to PUC alone to reduce the scores of FOC, pregnancy stress, and self-efficacy. MATERIALS AND
methodsAn RCT with two-arm parallel groups and 1:1 allocation ratio assigned 70 pregnant women (aged 18-50) attending public health centers in an education hospital in Iran to receive five sessions of group MI psychotherapy plus PUC ( MAIN
resultsThe post-trial results indicated that the outcome scores diminished more considerably in psychotherapy than in PUC for total FOC scale with a large effect size ( DISCUSSION: Adding 5 weeks of group psychotherapy to PUC could be considered as an adjunctive care option for reducing FOC, pregnancy stress, and general anxiety in pregnant women in the third trimester. Future research may focus on sustaining the effects and evaluating the economic impacts of adding psychotherapy to PUC.
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