Effects of the “Inspirational Lecture” in Combination With “Ordinary Antenatal Parental Classes” as Professional Support for Expectant Parents: A Pilot Study as a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Both expectant mothers and their partners describe weaknesses in ordinary parental preparatory professional support provided internationally and nationally within Sweden. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the parental preparatory professional support provided by midwives for expectant parents within Sweden. This study will evaluate the effects on expectant parents of receiving a combination of an “inspirational lecture” and “ordinary antenatal parental classes” compared with only “ordinary antenatal parental classes.” Methods/Design: This block randomized controlled trial included an intervention as a pilot study, in which expectant parents were randomized for (1) the inspirational lecture and ordinary antenatal parental classes (intervention group [IG]) ( n = 66) or (2) ordinary antenatal parental classes (control group [CG]) ( n = 60). Data collection with repeated questionnaires was conducted in the first week and 6 months after birth. Statistical analyses were conducted for participant characteristics, differences between parents within IG and CG, effects of the intervention, intention to treat, and internal consistency of the included measurements. Results: The intervention showed a tendency to be gainful for one out of four outcomes related to birth experience, and parents' perceived quality of parental couple relationship consensus and sexuality and manageability. These results were more prominent for the partners. Parents within both the intervention and control groups reported decreased social support in the first 6 months after birth. Conclusion and Clinical Implications: Overall, the concept of the inspirational lecture in combination with ordinary antenatal parental classes as parental preparatory professional support seems to be a valuable care intervention. However, this study was a pilot study and the results should therefore be interpreted with caution. More research is needed since childbirth and transition to parenthood are complex processes in need of comprehension.

Parental‐couple separation during the transition to parenthood

“…Our results reveal that attending the IL lowered the risk of separation for partners at T3 and T4, supported by Thorstensson et al. ( 2020 ). They revealed that participating in IL has a positive effect on QDR36 6 months after birth and that the IL can enhance perceived consensus at T3 and manageability, particularly for partners.…”

Midwives' Experiences of Providing the “Inspirational Lecture” as a Care Intervention for Expectant Parents—A Qualitative Study

“…Previously, Gilmer et al (39) have claimed that it would be impossible for a single and centrally regulated program to be flexible enough to actually meet the support needs of all expectant parents. In addition, the inspirational lecture has previously been shown to be valuable for parents when provided as a care intervention for expectant parents in combination with ordinary parental classes (8). Notable is, however, that the content, strategies and philosophy outlined in the findings of the current study may be commonly used for parental classes around the world.…”

“…The results of the study revealed that the intervention, the inspirational lecture, showed a tendency to be beneficial for parents' birth experience, and there was a statistically significant difference showing that the parents within the intervention group reported higher values regarding their perceived quality of parental couple relationship, as well as their manageability. The authors' conclusion was that a combination between those two types of professional support (the inspirational lecture and ordinary parental classes), seems to be a valuable care intervention (8). Qualitative research on expectant first-time mothers and partners' perceptions of the inspirational lecture have shown that the pedagogical creativity used by the midwives who provide the lecture (i.e., conveying information using humorous role-playing), increase understanding, among the expectant parents (3,4).…”

“…Also, midwives' experiences from leading ordinary parental classes have been described both as demanding (10) and enjoyable (11), and midwives need both individual skills and organizational resources to provide satisfactory parental classes (10,11). When developing the inspirational lecture, provided as an intervention within the Swedish RCT previously mentioned (8), the intent was to create opportunities for midwives to provide expectant parents with information about how to prepare for normal childbirth. The developers used their clinical experiences from working as labor ward midwives.…”

Digital Tools as Parental Support—A Study Protocol Describing Prospective Development and Exploration of Two Digital Tools for Parents

“…Moreover, even long-term implications of co-parenting quality for adult and child outcomes have been suggested ( 48 ). A randomized controlled trial in which expectant parents received professional support by midwives proved that professional support can strengthen parents' perceived quality of their couple relationships 6 months after birth ( 49 ). In addition, expecting parental couples who attend professional support together (such as parental groups with other expecting parents and midwives) are less likely to commit couple separation the first 2 years after birth ( 50 ).…”