Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: May 30, 2022
Date Accepted: Jan 3, 2023
Physical and mental effects of foot baths among women in labor: A study protocol for a pre-test/post-test experimental design
ABSTRACT
Background:
Foot baths are used in complementary and alternative therapy to improve duration and quality of sleep and reduce tension, anxiety, fatigue, and confusion. However, the physical and mental effects of foot baths during labor are unknown. This study aims to assess the physical and mental effects of foot baths based on biomarker levels and self-administered questionnaires. Methods/Design: This study will use a single-arm pre-test/post-test trial design. The target study population will be women in the first stage of labor. All participants who meet the eligibility criteria will receive the intervention, i.e., foot bath for 15–20 min using a foot bath device. Primary outcomes are salivary cortisol levels before and after the foot bath. Secondary outcomes are levels of relaxation and comfort, labor pain, body warmth, vital signs, and interval of labor pain before and after the foot bath, which will be assessed using a numerical rating scale (NRS). A paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test will be performed to compare the data for salivary cortisol levels and NRS scores. Discussion: This is the first prospective study to assess the effects of foot baths using a biomarker during the first stage of labor. The findings on the effects of foot baths on women in labor will provide novel insights that may improve the outcomes of delivery. Trial registration: UMIN000046539. Registered on January 17, 2022, https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000053088.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.