gms | German Medical Science

Background: During the apprenticeship to become a midwife, it is pointed out to students how important prenatal classes are. The literature on how to develop such courses is vast. Often, midwives take conventional route in developing a course, including the following standard main modules: course information, common problems and complains in pregnancy, body work, body awareness, breathing methods and birth-easing behaviour. The latter involving the partner in preparation for their supportive role during birth.

However, as many authors in the field of family psychology point out, the transitional phase from romantic to parenting couple is characterized by intense changes, which can be challenging. Furthermore, the relation between parents and the newborn as well as the relation between sibling is focus of interest. Yet, these areas of interest have thus far been neglected in common concepts of prenatal classes [1], [2], [3], [4], [5].

Aim: The current study points out the possibility of the addition of systemic components to conventional class concepts with the aim of positively influencing the transition into parenthood. It will be investigated whether by including systemic components into the classes, there will be effects on prenatal maternal stress or the experience of pregnancy-related stressors.

Method: 101 pregnant women who participated in 8 different prenatal classes and who were at the beginning of their last trimester in pregnancy participated. The course was made up of 7 evening classes. Of these classes, 6 were for the pregnant women only and on one evening also included partners. Out of these participants, 76 were having their first child. In a longitudinal design, participants were asked before the beginning and after the end of the whole prenatal course about prenatal maternal stress using the Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (PDQ). Possible influential factors were age, length of relationship and parity. At the end of the course a comprehensive evaluation of the course took place.

Results: The subscale `concerns about emotions and relationship´ showed that at the beginning of the course, only 32.7% of the participants were without worry about change in the relationship to people they cared about. In regard to change in their current romantic relationship, only 24.8% were without worry.

There is a significant reduction in experienced prepartal stress as can be seen in the total score of the PDQ and its three subscales. The pregnant women reported at the evaluation of the course to have improved their competences in the areas that the three subscales of the PDQ represent.

Relevance: By using exercises, homework and interventions as additions to a conventionally built prenatal class, participating women and their partners can be prepared for the possible changes that come with the transition into parenthood, enabling them to anticipate and reflect these changes. In this way, possible problem-solving strategies are to be activated at an early stage in order to be able to cope with them in the new situation. Furthermore, the aim of additional systemic modules is to build awareness towards the systemic approach, thereby, on one hand, enabling the couple to take a transgenerational glimpse and, on the other hand, to mutually work on the „family home“ in order to pave the way for the imminent time of parenthood.

Ethical criteria and conflict of interests: The research was submitted to an ethics committee. It was financed from own resources. There is no conflict of interest.