Narrative Nursing for Cesarean Mothers' Anxiety and Breastfeeding Confidence

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

4-step narrative nursing program: Four nurse-led storytelling sessions (pre-operative externalization, post-operative deconstruction, pre-discharge reconstruction, and 2-week meaning-reconstruction phone call) aimed at reducing anxiety and increasing breastfeeding self-efficacy.

Study summary

This study tests whether a nurse-led "4-step narrative nursing" program can reduce anxiety and improve breastfeeding confidence in mothers who are having a planned or non-emergency cesarean section.

What is the problem? About 30-40% of Chinese cesarean mothers feel high anxiety after surgery, and 1 in 5 is at risk for postpartum depression. Low confidence in breastfeeding is also common.

What will we do?

We will randomly assign 160 mothers (1:1) to either:

Usual care - standard education and ward care, or

Usual care plus narrative nursing - four short (10-20 min) conversations with a trained nurse:

Before surgery - help the mother talk about her fears. 24-48 h after surgery - encourage her to "name" pain or worries and separate them from herself.

Before discharge - guide her to find positive moments and build a "strong-mom" story.

Two weeks later by phone - strengthen the new story and review feeding success. What will we measure? Main result: anxiety score at 48 h (STAI scale). Other results: depression risk, breastfeeding confidence, pain, and feeding rates up to 3 months.

Possible benefits:

Lower anxiety, better mood, higher breastfeeding rates. No drugs or extra procedures are involved, only talking.

Risks:

Minimal; some mothers may feel emotional during conversations, but nurses can pause or refer to counselling if needed.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Postpartum anxiety at 48 hours — 48 hours post-surgery
  Mean score on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-State, 20 items) assessed 48 hours after cesarean delivery. Lower scores indicate less anxiety.

Trial sites (1)

Other trials for the same condition