Preparation courses for childbirth in primipara. A comparison

Effects of respiratory autogenic training (RAT) for childbirth preparation on relaxation and anxiety during delivery and on pain and behavior were compared with those of the traditional psychoprophylactic course (TPP) in primipara. 34 women (ages 20-35 yrs) were assigned randomly to 1 of the 2 courses and given the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, Maudsley Personality Inventory, General Health Questionnaire, and other self-administered anxiety ratings. Both courses had similar outcomes but, having eliminated by means of covariance analyses the effects of the initial anxiety level, the RAT Ss reported less anxiety before entering the labor ward and less pain during labor. The expulsion time, corrected for "anxiety before labor" (covariate), was shorter in the RAT group. In none of the RAT participants, compared to 4 of the TPP Ss, did a vacuum extractor have to be used. (13 ref) ((c) 1997 APA/PsycINFO, all rights reserved)