Research Information System
European Journal of Integrative Medicine, vol.81, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of emotional freedom techniques (EFT) applied before cesarean section on anxiety, surgical fear and perception of traumatic birth. Method: This randomized controlled trial was conducted with 106 pregnant women (53 EFT, 53 control) at the pregnancy outpatient clinic of a public hospital in eastern Türkiye who were going to give birth by planned cesarean section. Personal Information Form, State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-I), Surgical Fear Scale (SFQ), Traumatic Birth Perception Scale (TBPS) and Subjective Experiences Scale (SUE) were used to obtain the data. Pregnant women in the experimental group received two EFT sessions one week apart, from the researchers. The control group did not receive any intervention. Descriptive statistics, Pearson chi-square test, t-test for dependent and independent groups, ANCOVA and repeated measures analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. Results: It was determined that the mean scores of the pregnant women in the experimental and control groups who would give birth by planned cesarean section were similar in the pretest phase (p > 0.05). After the EFT sessions applied to the pregnant women in the experimental group, it was found that the mean total scores of STAI-I, SFQ, and TBPS were statistically significantly lower and the mean SUE score was higher than the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that EFT applied to pregnant women who will give birth by planned cesarean section decreased state anxiety, surgical fear and traumatic birth perception.