TY - JOUR
T1 - The Influence of Nature Stimulus in Enhancing the Birth Experience
AU - Aburas, Rehab
AU - Pati, Debajyoti
AU - Casanova, Robert
AU - Adams, Nicole Gilinsky
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - The physical environment is one of the factors that affect women’s experience of labor. The basics of the childbirth process have not changed since the beginning of human existence; however, the environment in which women today give birth has changed significantly. Incorporating design elements and strategies that calm and reduce negative emotions may create positive experiences for women in labor. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of one such strategy, namely, the presentation of images of nature, on the labor and delivery experience. The study findings showed that the experimental condition has a higher score on the Quality of Care From the Patient’s Perspective (QPP) subscale. In addition, there was an increase in the QPP scores associated with the increase in Nature TV watching time, QPP mean of watching time (less than 1 hr) group, m = 4.5 and QPP mean of watching time (more than 3 hs), m = 4.8. The mean score for the heart rate was lower in the experimental condition, m = 84.60, than in the control one, m = 90.49. For Apgar, the mean score was higher for Group A, m = 8.65, and Group B, m = 8.92. These findings support the study hypothesis which states that the nature images would influence the labor experience positively. In addition, the findings emphasize the importance of incorporating nonpharmacological techniques in the labor and delivery room (LDR) units to sooth the pain. Adding nature imagery to the LDR environment can be one of these techniques.
AB - The physical environment is one of the factors that affect women’s experience of labor. The basics of the childbirth process have not changed since the beginning of human existence; however, the environment in which women today give birth has changed significantly. Incorporating design elements and strategies that calm and reduce negative emotions may create positive experiences for women in labor. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of one such strategy, namely, the presentation of images of nature, on the labor and delivery experience. The study findings showed that the experimental condition has a higher score on the Quality of Care From the Patient’s Perspective (QPP) subscale. In addition, there was an increase in the QPP scores associated with the increase in Nature TV watching time, QPP mean of watching time (less than 1 hr) group, m = 4.5 and QPP mean of watching time (more than 3 hs), m = 4.8. The mean score for the heart rate was lower in the experimental condition, m = 84.60, than in the control one, m = 90.49. For Apgar, the mean score was higher for Group A, m = 8.65, and Group B, m = 8.92. These findings support the study hypothesis which states that the nature images would influence the labor experience positively. In addition, the findings emphasize the importance of incorporating nonpharmacological techniques in the labor and delivery room (LDR) units to sooth the pain. Adding nature imagery to the LDR environment can be one of these techniques.
KW - biophilia
KW - biophilic imagery
KW - childbirth environment
KW - healthcare
KW - nature imagery
KW - women labor experience
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85006736334&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1937586716665581
DO - 10.1177/1937586716665581
M3 - Article
C2 - 27694185
AN - SCOPUS:85006736334
SN - 1937-5867
VL - 10
SP - 81
EP - 100
JO - Health Environments Research and Design Journal
JF - Health Environments Research and Design Journal
IS - 2
ER -