The Effect of Stress Ball and Expressive Touch Application

The Effect of Stress Ball and Expressive Touch Application on Pain, Mobilization and Breastfeeding During Episiotomy Repair

Purpose: The study will be conducted to examine the effects of stress ball and expressive touch application on pain, mobilization and breastfeeding during episiotomy repair. Materials and Methods: In the randomized controlled experimental study, data will be obtained using the "VAS pain score", "6 Minute Walk Test" Bristol Breastfeeding Assessment Scale. Stress Ball and Expressive Touch will be applied to the women in the study group during the episiotomy application and no application will be applied to the patients in the control group during the procedure.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Birth Trauma
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Stress ball; Behavioral: Expressive touch applications

Detailed Description

Introduction Episiotomy is a controlled surgical incision made in the perineum to widen the vaginal opening in the second stage of labor . Although limited and indicated use of episiotomy is recommended, it is applied in around 40%.

Episiotomy procedure is observed to affect sexual health in the short term; pain, anxiety, limited mobility, difficulties in micturition and defecation . In the long term, it is seen that the fear of episiotomy in pregnant women increases the rate of elective cesarean section . The use of sleep-inducing drugs to reduce pain during episiotomy repair can cause side effects such as changes in fetal heart rate and decrease in maternal blood pressure . Evidence-based practices recommend the use of various nonpharmacological methods to reduce pain during episiotomy repair . Evidence-based practices support stress ball and expressive touch in pain management .

Stress ball; is a nonpharmacological method that reduces the feeling of pain by pulling pain-related receptors in the brain to another point.In the literature, stress ball is seen to be used to reduce pain during endoscopy , peripheral intravenous catheter application ,, and gynecological procedures .Again, expressive Touch is an approach that aims to regulate, increase, balance and protect energy to heal diseases or symptoms caused by imbalance in vital energy fields .It is a consciously directed energy exchange in which the practitioner uses their hands as a focal point to facilitate the process .It has been reported in the literature that expressive touch reduces women's pain in labor .Women in labor and early postpartum need verbal and nonverbal communication from midwives .

Reducing pain during episiotomy repair is available in the literature .However, there are limited studies on long-term results .. In the current literature, it was aimed to determine the effects of stress ball and expressive touch application on pain, mobilization and breastfeeding during episiotomy repair and to pioneer future research. It is thought that the results obtained in this study will significantly contribute to women's positive birth experiences and the development of midwifery practices.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 105
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: MİNE GÖKDUMAN; Phone Number: 248 213 82 50; Email: minegokdumankeles@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Women who speak Turkish, are between the ages of 18-35, primiparous, gestational age between 37-42, who have undergone mediolateral episiotomy,

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Exclusion Criteria:

Women diagnosed with risky pregnancies, those with vision and hearing problems, those with deep lacerations during delivery, those with 3rd and 4th degree lacerations.

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Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control Group; The group will be given routine care
Active Comparator: Stress ball; Sterile Stress ball applied to pregnant women during mediolateral episiotomy repair. Participants in the stress ball group will be asked to squeeze and loosen the stress ball in their hands	Behavioral: Stress ball; Sterile Stress ball for pregnant women during mediolateral episiotomy repair. Participants in the stress ball group will be asked to squeeze and loosen the stress ball in their hands.
Active Comparator: Expressive touch applications; During the mediolateral episiotomy repair, expressive touch will be applied to one hand of the mother by the researcher, lasting approximately 15-20 minutes.	Behavioral: Expressive touch applications; During the mediolateral episiotomy repair, expressive touch will be applied to one hand of the mother by the researcher, lasting approximately 15-20 minutes

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Visual Analog Scale	VAS pain score is used to evaluate pain severity. Pain on a numerical rating scale ranges from 0 (absence of pain) to 10 (unbearable pain).	1 HOUR
Mobilization	In the first 48 hours after birth, the first postpartum mobilization hour, duration, and the number of subsequent mobilizations will be recorded (Prokopowicz, Korzeniewska, Byrka, & Obstetrics, 2021). The decision to start or continue mobilization will be made by the healthcare professional working in the clinic. Women's mobilization status will be evaluated. The examiner will note the success or failure of the patient's mobilization along with its duration. (The beginning of the measurement was determined as the moment the patient got out of bed from a sitting position, and the end of the measurement was determined as the moment the patient returned to bed). If the patient got out of bed and started walking (took at least one step), he received a score of 1 (successful) on the questionnaire. If he stood up but did not take a single step while returning to a sitting position, he received a score of 0. Mobilization time was measured in minutes.	1 HOUR
6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT)	6MWT will be used to evaluate the physical functions of the patients. During this test, a 30-meter-long hard-surfaced track will be walked at a normal pace for six minutes. This track is marked every 3 meters and a cone is placed at the end of this 30-meter track and the same track is returned around it. The researcher will record the distance the patient walks in 6 minutes in meters. The test will be performed in a 60-meter long hospital corridor	1 HOUR
Bristol Breastfeeding Assessment Scale;	"Bristol Breastfeeding Assessment Scale (BEDÖ) was developed by Jenny Ingram in 2014 and adapted to Turkish by Dolgun and her friends in 2017 (İnal, Erdim, Korkut, & Dolgun). The scale was developed to evaluate breastfeeding problems and adequacy frequently encountered in the postpartum period. The mother is observed by a health professional during breastfeeding and the form is filled out by evaluating the mother and the baby in line with the criteria. The application time of the scale is 5-10 minutes. While the Cronbach's Alpha value of the original form of the tool was found to be 0.68, it was found to be 0.77 in the Turkish adaptation study. In our study, the reliability coefficient Chronbach's Alpha value was determined as ….. The measurement tool is a Likert-type scale consisting of 4 items: "positioning", "holding", "sucking" and "swallowing" (İnal et al.).	1 HOUR

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Mine Gokduman Keles

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 30, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 6, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 17, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 17, 2024
• Last Verified: December 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Episiotomy; Pain Management; Midwifery; Stress Ball; Expressive Touch
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Infant, Newborn, Diseases; Birth Injuries
• Other Study ID Numbers: Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy Unive

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No