The Effect of Therapeutic Touch at Birth on Pain, Birth Duration, Traumatic Birth Perception and Anxiety

February 18, 2026 updated by: Sukran Ertekin Pinar, Cumhuriyet University
Aim: This study was planned to determine the effect of therapeutic touch applied at birth on pain, birth duration, traumatic birth perception and anxiety.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Methods: The sample of this randomized controlled experimental research consisted of 66 (intervention group: 33; control group: 33) women. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, Visual Analogue Scale, State Anxiety Inventory and Traumatic Childbirth Perception Scale.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

66

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Turkey
      • Sivas, Turkey, Turkey (Türkiye), 58140
        • Sukran Ertekin Pinar

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Not having a high-risk pregnancy Having no health problems with the baby or herself Having a single foetus Being about to have a vaginal delivery Not having a chronic physical or psychiatric diagnosis Agreeing to participate in the research Not having communication and perception problems Miad (37W<) pregnancy Having with induction application

Exclusion Criteria:

having vacuum, forceps etc. intervention such as

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Standard of care Group
The control group did not receive any treatment.
Experimental: Therapeutic touch Group
Therapeutic touch was applied twice to the women in the intervention group in addition to routine practices. The first application was performed in the latent phase of the first stage of labour, and the second was done in the active phase of labour.
Behavioral: Therapeutic Touch
Therapeutic touch, as meaningful touch, is included in complementary medicine in the literature. It provides physical, emotional and spiritual relief, improves physiological health, makes the person feel valuable, gives confidence, peace, calmness and increases self-confidence.
Other Names:
  • Control Group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Visual Analogue Scale
Time Frame: Baseline
It is a measurement tool used to evaluate pain intensity, where 0 = no pain and 10 = the most severe pain.
Baseline
State Anxiety Inventory
Time Frame: Baseline
It is a scale consisting of 20 items that requires the individual to answer how she feels at a certain moment and under certain conditions, taking into account her feelings about the current situation. A score of 0-19 indicates "no anxiety", 20-39 points indicates "mild", 40-59 points indicates "moderate", and 60-79 points indicates "severe anxiety".
Baseline
Traumatic Birth Perception Scale
Time Frame: Baseline
It consists of 13 items and measures the woman's level of perception of traumatic birth. (0-26) points: very low perception of traumatic birth (27- 52) points: low level of perception of traumatic birth (53-78) points: perception of moderately traumatic birth (79-104) points: perception of highly traumatic birth (105-130) points: very high perception of traumatic birth
Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Visual Analogue Scale
Time Frame: Postpartum in 2 hour
It is a measurement tool used to evaluate pain intensity, where 0 = no pain and 10 = the most severe pain.
Postpartum in 2 hour
State Anxiety Inventory
Time Frame: Postpartum in 2 hour
It is a scale consisting of 20 items that requires the individual to answer how she feels at a certain moment and under certain conditions, taking into account her feelings about the current situation. A score of 0-19 indicates "no anxiety", 20-39 points indicates "mild", 40-59 points indicates "moderate", and 60-79 points indicates "severe anxiety".
Postpartum in 2 hour
Traumatic Birth Perception Scale
Time Frame: Postpartum in 2 hour
It consists of 13 items and measures the woman's level of perception of traumatic birth. (0-26) points: very low perception of traumatic birth (27- 52) points: low level of perception of traumatic birth (53-78) points: perception of moderately traumatic birth (79-104) points: perception of highly traumatic birth (105-130) points: very high perception of traumatic birth
Postpartum in 2 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Cumhuriyet University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sukran Ertekin Pinar, Ph.D., Cumhuriyet University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 30, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

January 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 27, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 21, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

May 23, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 18, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • TR SİVAS 04

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

There is not a plan to make IPD available.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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