Comparison of the Effect of Muscle Relaxation and Guided Imagery on Happiness and Fear of Childbirth in Primiparous Women Admitted to Health Care Centers

Objectives: Giving birth is a unique experience that requires a pregnant woman's ability to cope with labor pain. Using happiness, this potential can be given to a pregnant woman. This study was performed to compare the effect of muscle relaxation and guided imagery on the happiness and fear of delivery in primiparous women. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was carried out on a sample of 180 primiparous women who referred to healthcare centers in Zahedan during 2017. The subjects were selected by the available sampling method. Then, Brislin's and Oxford Questionnaires were used to evaluate the fear of childbirth (FOC) and happiness, respectively. Through simple randomization, people who were qualified were included in relaxation, guided imagery, and control groups. Finally, a four-week training program was implemented for individual training. Results: Before the intervention, the mean scores for the FOC in relaxation, guided imagery, and control groups were 39.51 +/- 6.91, 44.00 +/- 9.30, and 41.56 +/- 9.37, respectively, and after the intervention, they were 30.45 +/- 6.56, 34.78 +/- 9.36 and 41.78 +/- 8.69, respectively. Based on the results, the mean scores of the FOC after the intervention showed a significant difference among the groups (P = 0.0001). In addition, the mean scores for happiness were 37.5 +/- 15.54, 34.54 +/- 17.72, and 36.78 +/- 18.97, as well as 54.66 +/- 14, 49.63 +/- 17.05, and 36.65 +/- 18.28 before and after the intervention in relaxation, guided imagery, and control groups, respectively (P = 0.0001). Conclusions: To prevent unnecessary cesarean sections, the current study confirmed the effect of muscle relaxation and guided imagery techniques for reducing the fear of delivery while increasing happiness in pregnant women.