Effects of Laughter Therapy on Postpartum Mothers' Stress, Sleep, and Breastfeeding

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Laughter Therapy: A laughter yoga session; It is approximately 30 minutes and consists of four parts. These sections; hand clapping and warm-up exercises, deep breathing exercises, childish games and laughter exercises. In each laughter yoga session, the first three parts are the same, but the laughter exercises in the fourth part vary. In the first session of each new group, the introduction of laughter yoga, its purpose and objectives will be discussed. 10 minutes will be allocated for this section in the first session of each group. Therefore, the first session is planned to be 40 minutes in each group and all subsequent sessions are planned to be 30 minutes.

Study summary

Postnatal period is an important developmental transition period for women. Stress in the postnatal period is one of the most common mental health problems and most mothers report experiencing stress in the perinatal period. In addition, stress and negative mental health also threaten breastfeeding self-efficacy. The postnatal period is an important stage in terms of early initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding self-efficacy is a mother's perceived confidence in her ability to breastfeed her newborn baby. Therefore, midwives are expected to assess women and identify women in need of supportive interventions and consciously contribute to their treatment. Another common problem in the postnatal period is poor sleep quality. It was determined that an increase in sleep quality and perceived social support positively affected breastfeeding self-efficacy of postpartum women. In addition, poor sleep quality poses a threat for negative mental health outcomes for women in the postpartum period. Previous studies reflect mothers' desire for non-pharmacological interventions and a high degree of satisfaction with these therapies. Laughter therapy, one of the main non-pharmacological interventions, is recognised as a universal approach to reduce stress and anxiety. The postnatal period is a fragile period with physical and psychological changes as well as hormonal changes in the mother. Poor mental health of the mother poses a danger to the well-being of the mother and the baby. Mothers in the postpartum period need low-cost, easily accessible preventive interventions to prevent these problems. In this context, the aim of this study is to determine the effect of laughter therapy given to mothers in the postpartum period on perceived stress, sleep quality and breastfeeding self-efficacy level in mothers.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Perceived Stress Scale — 1st Time: Day 1, 2nd Time: Day 30, 3rd Time: Day 60
  It was developed by Cohen, Kamarck \& Mermelste (1983), and in the reliability study, the Cronbach Alpha value was found to be 0.86. The Cronbach Alpha value of the "Perceived Stress Scale", which was adapted into Turkish by Bilge, Öğce, Genç and Oran (2007) and whose validity and reliability studies were conducted, was found to be 0.81. Three items of the scale, prepared in a 5-point Likert type (0 never, 4 very often), are reverse-worded (items 4, 5, 6), and five items are literal (items 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8). A total score of 0-32 is taken from the scale. It has two subscales: perceived stress (items 1, 2, 3, 7, 8) and perceived coping (items 4, 5, and 6). The scale is evaluated on both total score and subscale scores. A high total score means a high perceived stress level. High scores from the subscales are a negative situation.

Trial sites (1)

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