A Randomized Controlled Trial on Primigravid Women of Text Messaging Intervention Offering Pregnancy and Childbirth Support

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a text messaging intervention that offered pregnancy and childbirth support. Participants included 39 primigravid women who were less than 12 weeks pregnant. Text messages were sent twice weekly to the intervention group from week 13 of pregnancy until childbirth. Outcome measures were anxiety levels, lifestyle in the month before birth, pre-birth weight, pregnancy complications, delivery complications, birth weight, thoughts regarding the text messages, and the frequency of viewing of the text messages. For the item "I engage in body stretching," the average value in the intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group. For the item "I have regular bowel movements," the average value in the intervention group was significantly lower. Most participants reported that the intervention was at least somewhat useful. This study indicates that text messaging intervention is practical and can be used to support numerous pregnant women simultaneously at a relatively low cost. Since this is a study pilot trial, large-scale studies are necessary to improve the method and allow for the generalization of the results.

Effects of mHealth on the psychosocial health of pregnant women and mothers: a systematic review

“…Six out of 17 RCTs were assessed as having a high overall risk of bias due to bias arising from randomisation process, deviations from the intended intervention and unclear measurement outcome 38 39 41 44–46. Most of the studies were assessed as having some concerns for mainly not being able to blind the participants/outcome assessors due to the nature of the intervention conducted in the studies 35 37 40 42 43 47 50 51. The remaining three studies were considered low risk of bias 36 48 49…”

“…Thirteen studies assessed the roles of mHealth in anxiety symptoms among pregnant women and mothers 35 36 39 40 44 46 47 50 54 61–63 73. Four studies found positive effects, six studies had mixed findings and three studies found no significant effect (GRADE certainty of evidence: low).…”

“…Forty-four studies were eligible for the assessment of methodological quality. Out of 44 studies, 17 studies were RCTs [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51] and their risk of bias assessment is depicted in figure 2. 52 Six out of 17 RCTs were assessed as having a high overall risk of bias due to bias arising from randomisation process, deviations from the intended intervention and unclear measurement outcome.…”

The Role of Digital Health in the Early Detection and Management of Obstetric Complications in the Community: A Systematic Review

“…Although an estimated 25% of pregnant women receive counseling regarding pregnancy risks, many pregnant women are unaware of the potential risks associated with pregnancy [7]. Pregnancy problems can be avoided, and normal pregnancy, fetal development, and spontaneous delivery are all ensured by proper self-care during pregnancy [8], [9]. Nearly 75% of all maternal deaths are caused by complications primarily linked to long-term diseases such as diabetes or heart disease [10].…”