Warm and Cool Color Visual Focusing in Labor

August 18, 2026 updated by: Hülya TÜRKMEN, Balikesir University

EFFECTS OF FOCUSING ON WARM VERSUS COOL COLOR VISUALS DURING LABOR ON PAIN, ANXIETY, COMFORT, AND LABOR DURATION: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

This randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the effects of focusing on warm- and cool-color visuals during labor on labor pain, state anxiety, childbirth comfort, and labor duration. Nulliparous pregnant women were randomly assigned to warm- or cool-color visual focusing groups. Visual focusing was initiated during the early stage of labor and continued throughout labor. Labor pain, state anxiety, childbirth comfort, and labor duration were assessed at predefined stages of cervical dilatation.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

64

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

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:

Nulliparous pregnant women Singleton pregnancy Term pregnancy (37-42 weeks of gestation) Cephalic fetal presentation Spontaneous onset of labor Cervical dilatation of 1 cm at enrollment Ability to communicate in Turkish Voluntary participation in the study -

Exclusion Criteria:

High-risk pregnancy or obstetric complications Presence of a condition requiring emergency obstetric intervention Use of pharmacological analgesia during labor Visual impairment that could interfere with focusing on the visual Development of maternal or fetal complications requiring discontinuation of the intervention

-

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
Experimental: Warm-color group
A visual dominated by warm colors was placed in the delivery room, and visual focusing was initiated at 1 cm of cervical dilatation. The midwife briefly introduced the artwork and the artist and asked the women to focus their attention on the visual throughout labor, particularly during painful periods. Standard midwifery care was provided.
Other: Warm-color visual
A visual dominated by warm colors was placed in the delivery room, and visual focusing was initiated at 1 cm of cervical dilatation. The midwife briefly introduced the artwork and the artist and asked the women to focus their attention on the visual throughout labor, particularly during painful periods.
Experimental: Cool-color group
A visual dominated by cool colors was placed in the delivery room, and visual focusing was initiated at 1 cm of cervical dilatation. The midwife briefly introduced the artwork and the artist and asked the women to focus their attention on the visual throughout labor, particularly during painful periods. Standard midwifery care was provided.
Other: Cool-color visual
A visual dominated by cool colors was placed in the delivery room, and visual focusing was initiated at 1 cm of cervical dilatation. The midwife briefly introduced the artwork and the artist and asked the women to focus their attention on the visual throughout labor, particularly during painful periods.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
labor pain
Time Frame: At 4-5 cm, 6-7 cm, and 8-10 cm cervical dilatation during labor.
Labor pain intensity was assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at 4-5 cm, 6-7 cm, and 8-10 cm cervical dilatation. The VAS ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity.
At 4-5 cm, 6-7 cm, and 8-10 cm cervical dilatation during labor.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
State Anxiety
Time Frame: At 6-7 cm cervical dilatation during labor.
State anxiety was assessed using the State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-I) at 6-7 cm cervical dilatation. The scale consists of 20 items, with total scores ranging from 20 to 80. Higher scores indicate higher levels of state anxiety.
At 6-7 cm cervical dilatation during labor.
Childbirth Comfort
Time Frame: At 4-5 cm and 8-10 cm cervical dilatation during labor.
Childbirth comfort was assessed using the Childbirth Comfort Questionnaire (CCQ) at 4-5 cm and 8-10 cm cervical dilatation. Higher scores indicate higher levels of childbirth comfort.
At 4-5 cm and 8-10 cm cervical dilatation during labor.
Labor Duration
Time Frame: From 4 cm to 10 cm cervical dilatation during labor.
Labor duration was determined by recording the time elapsed from 4 cm cervical dilatation to full cervical dilatation (10 cm).
From 4 cm to 10 cm cervical dilatation during labor.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Balikesir University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

March 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 18, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 18, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 18, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Balikesirhulya

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

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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