Narrative Nursing for Cesarean Mothers' Anxiety and Breastfeeding Confidence

NCT ID: NCT07272252

Last Updated: 2025-12-18

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

160 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-10-01

Study Completion Date

2026-03-01

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

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.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Postpartum Anxiety Postpartum Depression (PPD) Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Cesarean Section Wound

Keywords

Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.

narrative nursing storytelling intervention cesarean section postpartum anxiety breastfeeding confidence mixed-methods randomized controlled trial China

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors
Single-center, two-arm, randomized, parallel-group, superiority trial with blinded outcome assessment.

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Routine perinatal care

Participants receive standard ward education, nursing care, discharge instructions, and routine telephone follow-up without any additional narrative sessions.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

4-step narrative nursing

Participants receive usual care plus four nurse-led narrative sessions (pre-op externalization, post-op deconstruction, pre-discharge reconstruction, and 2-week meaning-reconstruction phone call) aimed at reducing anxiety and enhancing breastfeeding confidence.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

4-step narrative nursing program

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

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.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

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.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

1. Women aged 18-50 years
2. Scheduled for elective or non-emergency cesarean section at ≥37 weeks
3. Able to communicate in Mandarin and provide written informed consent
4. Expected hospital stay ≥24 h
5. Singleton pregnancy with stable maternal and neonatal condition allowing routine mother-baby contact

Exclusion Criteria

1. Severe psychiatric disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, active suicidal ideation)
2. Maternal or neonatal need for ICU/NICU admission
3. Emergency cesarean section preventing baseline assessment
4. Communication or cognitive impairment precluding interview
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

50 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Xiamen University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Yilong People's Hospital

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Xi Huang

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Xi Huang

Master's student

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Yilong County Maternal and Child Health Hospital

Nanchong, Sichuan, China

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

China

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

X i Huang

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +86-156-8090-6987

Email: [email protected]

Yinchun Tan

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +86-152-8329-4749

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Yinchun Tan

Role: primary

Xi Huang

Role: backup

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

FJ2022B061

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

XMSHLXH2320

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

Basic Nursing II

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

XMUNARRCARE2025

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id