The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the effect of a prenatal
hypnotherapeutic programme on the maintenance and promotion of postpartum
psychological well-being of a group of first-time mother.
Relevant literature on pregnancy, early motherhood and psychological well-being were
explained in order to abstract important facets and perspectives to use as a background
for the development and implementation of an intervention programme for the facilitation
of psychological well-being of first-time mothers. Theoretical perspectives on, and
practical applications of, clinical hypnosis were further analysed and used as foundation
for the development of the hypnotherapeutic intervention. A hypnotherapeutic
programme was developed, based on existing theoretical knowledge regarding
pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood, as well as clinical hypnosis, with specific
emphasis on Ericksonian principles and ego state therapy techniques, enriched from the
perspective of psychofortology.
The empirical study consisted of a quantitative component and a qualitative component.
In the quantitative component, a pretest-posttest-follow-up comparative design was
implemented, with random assignment of participants to the experimental and control
groups within the limits of practicalities. Both groups, each consisting of 23 women in
their first pregnancy, completed the following questionnaires: (i) Perception of Labour and
Delivery Scale (PLD), adapted from Padawer et al. (1988). Feelings about the baby and
relationship with the baby (FRB), adapted from Wwllett and Parr (1997), Maternal Self-
Confidence Scale (MSC), adapted from Ruble et al. (1990) and Maternal Self-Efficacy
Scale (MSE) (Teti & Gelfand, 1991), to explore aspects of psychological well-being
related to early motherhood; (ii) The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) ofCox et al. (1987) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (Goldberg & Hillier,
1979), to investigate aspects of psychological well-being as evident by the absence of
pathology; and (iii) the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) (Diener et al., 1985), the
Affectometer 2 (AFM) (Kammann & Flett, 1983), the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC) of
Antonovsky (1979) and the Generalised Self-efficacy Scale (GSE), developed by
Schwarrer, (1993), to measure general psychological well-being. The Stanford Hypnotic
Clinical Scale (SHCS) (Morgan & Hilgard, 1978) was used for the experimental group to
assess hypnotisabili. The qualitative component consisted of in-depth interviews and an
analysis of written responses of mothers in the experimental group. They commented on
their experience of the programme and its impact at two weeks and ten weeks
postpartum.
Results from the empirical study indicated that the experimental group showed
significantly more symptoms of depression and symptomatology during the prenatal
evaluation than the control group. Since the experimental group was possibly more
vulnerable than the control group in a psychological sense, the effect of the intervention
programme could not be deduced from a pure comparison of postnatal evaluation scores
between the groups. Therefore, it was decided to explore the significance of differences
within each of the experimental and control groups, as well as between the experimental
and control group, using the mean difference scores between prenatal and postnatal
evaluation on each variable.
Results indicate that the hypnotherapeutic programme was effective in enhancing most
aspects of psychological well-being within the experimental group. This strengthened
sense of psychological well-being was evident both in the immediate postpartum period
and at ten weeks postpartum. The control group showed a spontaneous increase in
psychological well-being later in the postpartum period. The programme thus assisted
mothers in the more vulnerable experimental group to experience a stronger sense of
psychological well-being sooner after the baby's birth.
The experimental and control groups were further compared on the mean differences in
prenatal versus postnatal scores on measures of psychological well-being. The results
suggest that the hypnotherapeutic intervention contributed to an enhanced sense of
psychological well-being in mothers in the experimental group, in comparison to the
control group, during the early postpartum period, as measured by variables related to
motherhood, absence of pathology and general psychological well-being. At ten weeks
postpartum, the differences between the experimental and control group were less obvious. However, a very important finding was that mothers in the experimental group
continued to show a significant improvement in psychological well-being as indicated by
the absence of pathology. Specifically, there was a continued decrease in depression
and general symptoms of pathology. Findings from the quantitative study were supported
by remarks by mothers in postpartum and follow-up interviews, as well as their written
responses, as part of a qualitative exploration of their experience of the programme and
its impact on them. The findings give compelling evidence that a hypnotherapeutic
intervention, focusing on the enhancement of strengths and inner resources, could
alleviate depression and psychological distress during the perinatal period, as well as
prevent the exacerbation of symptoms.
Findings from the current study indicate that the developed prenatal hypnotherapeutic
programme was effective in enhancing the psychological well-being of mothers
experiencing a first pregnancy. Recommendations for clinical practice and further
research were made, based on the current research findings.
The contribution of the current study lies in the fact that it is the first to explore
pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood from a salutogenidfortigenic perspective,
and to utilise hypnosis to facilitate psychological well-being in this context. It contributed
to scientific knowledge in the fields of developmental psychology, psychofortology and
clinical hypnosis. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/1343 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Guse, Catharina |
| Publisher | Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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