Effect of cognitive–behavioral training on fear of childbirth and sleep quality of pregnant adolescent slum dwellers

Fear of childbirth is a common problem during pregnancy, which can give rise to sleep disorders and diminish sleep quality. This study aimed to determine the effect of cognitive– behavioral training on fear of childbirth and sleep quality of pregnant adolescent slum dwellers who visited the slum health centers of Zahedan city, Iran, in 2020.

This quasi‑experimental study was conducted in 2020 on 100 pregnant adolescent slum dwellers between 11 and 19 years old at 24–28 weeks pregnant. Multi‑stage sampling was used and the participants were randomly divided into an intervention and a control group. The intervention group received four sessions of cognitive–behavioral training at weekly intervals. The control group only received routine care. The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were filled before and 4 weeks after the training course. The data were analyzed in SPSS 21 using independent t‑test, paired t‑test, Fisher’s exact test, and Chi‑squared test. and covariance. A P value of < 0.05 was considered significant.

After the intervention, the fear of childbirth significantly decreased (P = 0.004), and sleep quality significantly improved (P = 0.001) in the intervention group compared with the control group. The results of analysis of covariance to control the significant effect of pre‑test scores showed that the mean score of fear of childbirth (P = 0.03) and mean score of sleep quality (P = 0.001) in the two groups after the intervention was statistically significant.

The results showed that in addition to reducing fear of childbirth, cognitive–behavioral training improved the sleep quality of women in the intervention group. Therefore, this training could be used as an easy and accessible method without complications to improve women’s health.