The Effect of Childbirth Preparation Training with Yoga Support on Salivary Cortisol, Anxiety, Fear of Childbirth, and Readiness

This quasi-experimental study was conducted to determine the effect of childbirth preparation training with yoga support on cortisol, anxiety, fear of childbirth, and readiness level. The research population consists of pregnant women who applied to the gynecology and obstetrics polyclinic of a university hospital, a city hospital, and 19 family practice centers in Türkiye. This study using the convenience sampling method was completed with 60 pregnant women. The study was conducted in three groups: yoga-supported childbirth preparation training (Yoga + CPT, n = 19), childbirth preparation training (CPT, n = 22), and control (n = 19). Trainings were given once a week from the 31st to the 34th week of pregnancy. Data were collected by the Pregnant Information Form, Saliva Collection Material, STAI-T, STAI-S, and fear and readiness for childbirth subdimensions of the PSAS between April and October 2019. Analyses were performed using repeated measures ANOVA, independent sample t-test, paired sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA (SPSS 25.0). While there was a significant decrease in salivary cortisol levels in the Yoga + CPT group (p < 0.001), but not among the groups. The state anxiety level was found to be significantly higher in the intervention groups (p < 0.001). There was a significant difference in fear of childbirth in the intervention groups between before and after the training (p < 0.05), but not among the groups. The childbirth readiness of the Yoga + CPT group was higher than that of the control group (p = 0.019). While the Yoga + CPT decreased pregnant women's saliva cortisol and fear of childbirth and increased their readiness for childbirth, the Yoga + CPT and the CPT increased the state anxiety level.