The Tapping Evidence Base
Trauma (other) · Anxiety

Emotional freedom techniques and breathing awareness to reduce childbirth fear: A randomized controlled study

Irmak Vural, P., Aslan, E. · Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice · 2019

Randomized trial👥 120 participants⚖️ vs. breathing awareness; usual care controlModerate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 Turkey
In plain English. 120 women in labor at a Turkish hospital were split into three groups: tapping (EFT), a breathing-awareness technique, or usual care. Women who tapped reported less distress during the harder parts of labor and less fear about the birth afterward, compared with both other groups. It's a solid randomized study, though it looked only at a single labor experience rather than longer-term outcomes.

What they found

120
people took part

In this 3-arm RCT (EFT, breathing awareness, control), SUDS scores in the active and transition labor phases were significantly lower in the EFT group, and W-DEQ fear-of-childbirth scores differed significantly between groups (p<0.001); both EFT and breathing awareness helped, but EFT was found more effective.

How the study worked

Who took partPregnant women in labor (latent, active, and transition phases) at a Turkish hospital (n=120)
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withbreathing awareness; usual care control
Measured withSubjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS), Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ version B)

💡 Where this could help

Imagine a woman in active labor in a hospital where staff are stretched thin and a doula isn't in the budget. If this pattern replicates, it suggests a simple, self-administered technique — something she learns once and needs no one else to deliver — right when distress peaks during the hardest phases of labor, without adding to staff workload.

🔬 What to study next

Labor is a uniquely rich physiological setting, so pairing fear-of-childbirth scores with measures already on the ward — fetal heart rate patterns, maternal HR/BP, labor progression — could show whether calming subjective fear during active labor also shows up in smoother physiological labor markers. It would also be worth testing whether EFT taught in prenatal visits and self-administered through labor changes actual rates of requested pain medication or intervention, not just self-reported distress.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants120 people
PopulationPregnant women in labor (latent, active, and transition phases) at a Turkish hospital
Comparison groupbreathing awareness; usual care control
Outcome measuresSubjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS), Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ version B)
JournalComplementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
Year2019
CountryTurkey
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Irmak Vural, P., & Aslan, E. (2019). Emotional freedom techniques and breathing awareness to reduce childbirth fear: A randomized controlled study. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2019.02.011

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 Trauma (other) · Anxiety

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Trauma (other) 120 participants WHAT THEY FOUND In this 3-arm RCT (EFT, breathing awareness,control), SUDS scores in the active andtransition labor phases were… Randomized trial · 120 participants Irmak Vural · 2019 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com