The Effect of Pre-Breastfeeding Breathing Exercises on Maternal Anxiety, Well-being, and Infant Stress in Mothers Whose Infants Are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Anxiety, Psychological Well-being, Stress, Breath Exercise, Newborn

In brief

Aim: This study was conducted to examine the effects of breathing exercises on maternal anxiety, well-being, and infant stress. Materials and Methods: The research was initiated in a hospital in eastern Turkey between November 2024 and November 2026, after obtaining ethical committee and institutional approvals. The study population consisted of mothers whose babies were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of that hospital.The generally available G\*Power 3.1.9.7 for Windows software was used to calculate the sample size. Similar literature studies were referenced when determining the sample size of the research (Shamsdanesh et al., 2023). Furthermore, after the research is completed, a post-hoc power analysis will be performed on the main dependent variable, maternal anxiety level (MAL), to determine the power of the study (approximately 35 experimental, 35 control). The aim of the research is to ensure that the resulting sample size has sufficient statistical power to reveal the effect being examined. The research data is collected using a Demographic Information Form, prepared by the researcher through a literature review, the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Psychological Well-being Scale, and the Neonatal Stress Scale. Mothers perform this exercise three times a day for two days (days 1 and 2), under the supervision of a researcher. The four-square breathing exercise is a non-pharmacological pain reliever that has been shown to be beneficial in conditions other than pain. Each breathing exercise lasts 5-10 minutes. Mothers in the experimental group are given a questionnaire before the start of the study and after the exercise on days 1 and 2. Mothers in the control group are given only a questionnaire before the start of the study, at the end of day 1, and at the end of day 2. Mothers in the control group do not perform the four-square breathing exercise and receive routine hospital care. At the end of both days, mothers in the control group who wish to practice the breathing exercise are given the opportunity to do so.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07634445

Run by

Inonu University

People needed

70

Starts

2024-12-10

Expected to finish

2026-11-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-06-18

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Ability to communicate verbally,
• Being 18 years of age or older,
• Having a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit,
• Breastfeeding.

You may not qualify if…

• Having a psychiatric diagnosis according to medical records,
• The mother having a definite health problem in the postpartum period that prevents breastfeeding (heart disease, etc.),
• The study being terminated due to the newborn being discharged from the hospital,
• Incomplete data collection.

Where it is running

• Fırat University — Elâzığ, Elâzığ, Turkey (Türkiye) (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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