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Other Physical Conditions

Effect of emotional freedom technique on the fear of childbirth in Iranian primiparous women: a randomized controlled trial

Emadi, S., Hekmat, K., Abedi, P., Maraghi, E. · Frontiers in Psychology · 2024

Randomized trial👥 116 participants⚖️ vs. control group (n=58) vs EFT group (n=58)Moderate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 Iran
In plain English. 116 first-time pregnant women in Iran were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of daily EFT tapping or no intervention. The tapping group's fear of childbirth dropped noticeably while the control group's fear actually crept up, and the difference held after delivery too. This is a solid randomized trial, though it relies on self-report questionnaires and was conducted in one country/clinic setting.

What they found

116
people took part

Fear of childbirth score decreased from 49.39 to 40.42 in the EFT group (p<0.0001) while the control group's score increased (p=0.002); postpartum fear scores were also significantly lower in the EFT group (27.13 vs 45.88, p<0.0001).

How the study worked

Who took partprimiparous (first-time pregnant) women in Ahvaz, Iran (n=116)
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withcontrol group (n=58) vs EFT group (n=58)
Measured withWijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (WDEQ-A and WDEQ-B)

💡 Where this could help

If these findings replicate elsewhere, imagine a first-time mother whose fear of labor is shaping her whole pregnancy, learning a technique she can administer to herself daily at home, for free, rather than needing specialized perinatal counseling that may not exist in her community. It could matter most where maternal mental health support is thin and fear of childbirth goes largely unaddressed.

🔬 What to study next

A useful next step would be tracking whether the fear reduction seen here, with the control group's scores actually rising while the EFT group's fell, corresponds with lower cortisol or heart rate reactivity measured during labor itself, since fear of childbirth is partly a physiological alarm response. It would also be worth testing tapping delivered via a maternity-ward app or video rather than in-person sessions, to see if the same drop in fear and postpartum distress can be reached at a fraction of the cost and staff time.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants116 people
Populationprimiparous (first-time pregnant) women in Ahvaz, Iran
Comparison groupcontrol group (n=58) vs EFT group (n=58)
Outcome measuresWijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (WDEQ-A and WDEQ-B)
JournalFrontiers in Psychology
Year2024
CountryIran
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Emadi, S., Hekmat, K., Abedi, P., & Maraghi, E. (2024). Effect of emotional freedom technique on the fear of childbirth in Iranian primiparous women: a randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1145229

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Other Physical Conditions

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Other Physical Conditions 116 participants WHAT THEY FOUND Fear of childbirth score decreased from49.39 to 40.42 in the EFT group (p<0.0001)while the control group's score… Randomized trial · 116 participants Emadi · 2024 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com