Yoga and Breathing Techniques for Fear of Childbirth (FOC) and Quality of Sleep among Antenatal Women During Pregnancy – A Systematic Review Protocol

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Yoga and breathing techniques in decreasing Fear of Childbirth (FOC) and improving the quality of sleep among antenatal women. Introduction: Pregnancy, labor, and childbirth experiences for women are diverse. One of the issues faced by pregnant women is FOC, which can be stressful for mothers and their families. The global prevalence of FOC among women is 14%, while in India it is 17.7%. Fearful mothers may lack confidence in their ability to give birth, be swayed by unfavorable stories about the process, fear getting hurt during delivery, or fear pain or loss of control during labor. During pregnancy, sleep problems are common, and sleep disruptions usually result in interrupted and impaired sleep, which causes sleep loss, daytime exhaustion, lethargy, cognitive difficulties, and an increased risk of accidents. Third-trimester pregnant women who perform prenatal yoga sleep better. Methods: The PICO and PRISMA formats will be used in this review. This review will cover all interventional trials that undertook yoga (asana or pranayama) or breathing techniques for pregnant women. Scopus, PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science, Embase, and CINAHL databases will be used to search for full-text articles containing MeSH terms, Emtree, and keyword synonyms. English language journals from 01 January 2010 to 31 December 2024 will be used. JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist and the Cochrane ROB-2 tool will be used to assess the quality of each study. The quality of evidence will be assessed using GRADE. Narrative synthesis will be used to analyze the data. Meta-analysis will be performed when feasible. The trial is registered in PROSPERO with trial ID CRD42023452264. Conclusion: This article provides information on yoga or breathing exercises that are useful for enhancing sleep quality and lowering FOC. These data will help in creating awareness for healthcare professionals to implement routine pranayama practices for women during pregnancy to ensure clustered benefits in fostering maternal and neonatal health. This review focuses on SGDs 3 & 17.