Investigation of the Effectiveness of Some Complementary Medicine and Techniques Based on Religious Approach and Islamic Spirituality Therapy in Reducing Prenatal and Delivery Anxiety

Objective: Maternal mental health is one of the most important indicators of pregnancy health. Anxiety and stress affect maternal and fetal outcomes. The present review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of certain complementary medicine methods in reducing pregnancy anxiety. Evidence Acquisition: Data source in this review was related to articles searched in local scientific databases and international databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar. Search for articles was done by using keywords of pregnancy anxiety, complementary medicine, acupuncture and acupressure, aromatherapy, spiritual therapy, and psychotherapy without any time limitations. At the end of the search, out of 165 obtained articles, 70 were reviewed. Exclusion criteria were irrelevant research studies, inadequate data in the study, lack of access to the full text of articles, animal studies, editorial studies, and reports. Results: Aromatherapy, acupressure, relaxation training skills, maternal, fetal, and neonatal attachment techniques, psychotherapy, and spiritual therapy have been employed in different studies to control pregnancy anxiety. These methods had significant and measurable effects on reducing and controlling maternal anxiety during pregnancy, and in some studies, they improved neonatal growth and development indices. Conclusion: The efficiency of complementary medicine along with the use of therapeutic techniques in classical medicine can provide a new model for reducing the anxiety of pregnant women. It is recommended that health care planners use this integrated, easy-to-use, cost-effective approach so as to reduce the anxiety of pregnant mothers.