The effect of the magical hour on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in traumatic childbirth: a clinical trial
Abstract
Objective This study aimed to investigate the influence of the magical first hour after birth on post-traumatic stress in traumatic childbirths. Background: Traumatic childbirth with disturbing memories can have negative impacts on the mental health of postpartum mothers. Due to the growing trend of post-traumatic stress, the emphasis of recent research is on the identification and prevention of this kind of stress and the enhancement of maternal mental health. Methods: In this randomised clinical trial, which was carried out with 84 newly delivered mothers who were diagnosed with traumatic childbirth, participants were first randomly assigned into intervention (magical first hour) and control groups. Then, the nine instinctive stages were implemented to the intervention group while the control group received routine after-birth procedures. Then, using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), stress was measured at three intervals of 2 weeks, 4–6 weeks and 3 months after childbirth. The collected data were analysed using a mixed analysis of variance. Results: The mean total score of post-traumatic stress in the intervention group was 16.83 ± 1.1 and in the control group 21.04 ± 1.1, which showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.01). With the passage of time, the average scores of post-traumatic stress in both groups decreased and no interaction was observed between time and intervention. Conclusion: Implementation of the magical hour stages is recommended as a preventive and therapeutic guideline for relieving post-traumatic stress in women with traumatic childbirth experiences.
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Eligibility screening used four questions based on DSM-5 diagnostic criteria that have been validated in previous studies.
“four questions based on the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria were used to identify women who had traumatic childbirth experience [25]”
From The traumatic childbirth experience of mothers after emergency cesarean section(EmCS) in China: a descriptive qualitative study (2025) · cites this paper as [25]
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- Authors
- Abdollahpour, S., Khosravi, A., & Bolbolhaghighi, N.
- Affiliations
- Shahroud University of Medical Sciences (IR)
- Corresponding author
- Bolbolhaghighi, Nahid
- Venue
- Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-07-13
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 403-412
- ISSN
- 0264-6838 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-672X
- OpenAlex
- W2463826116
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 4
- FWCI
- 5.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Deputy of Research and Technology of the Shahroud University of Medical Sciences (9, 418)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Keywords
- traumatic birth, post-traumatic stress disorder, postpartum care, stress prevention, Impact of Event Scale-Revised
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