NCT07272252

Narrative Nursing for Cesarean Mothers' Anxiety and Breastfeeding Confidence

Psychological Effects and Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy of a Structured Four-Step Narrative Nursing Intervention in Cesarean Mothers: A Randomized Controlled Mixed-Methods Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 160 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Xi Huang · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 18 Years – 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study tests whether a nurse-led "4-step narrative nursing" program can reduce anxiety and improve breastfeeding confidence in mothers who are having a planned or non-emergency cesarean section. What is the problem? About 30-40% of Chinese cesarean mothers feel high anxiety after surgery, and 1 in 5 is at risk for postpartum depression. Low confidence in breastfeeding is also common. What will we do? We will randomly assign 160 mothers (1:1) to either: Usual care - standard education and ward care, or Usual care plus narrative nursing - four short (10-20 min) conversations with a trained nurse: Before surgery - help the mother talk about her fears. 24-48 h after surgery - encourage her to "name" pain or worries and separate them from herself. Before discharge - guide her to find positive moments and build a "strong-mom" story. Two weeks later by phone - strengthen the new story and review feeding success. What will we measure? Main result: anxiety score at 48 h (STAI scale). Other results: depression risk, breastfeeding confidence, pain, and feeding rates up to 3 months. Possible benefits: Lower anxiety, better mood, higher breastfeeding rates. No drugs or extra procedures are involved, only talking. Risks: Minimal; some mothers may feel emotional during conversations, but nurses can pause or refer to counselling if needed.

Conditions

• Postpartum Anxiety
• Postpartum Depression (PPD)
• Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy
• Cesarean Section Wound

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	4-step narrative nursing program	Four nurse-led storytelling sessions (pre-operative externalization, post-operative deconstruction, pre-discharge reconstruction, and 2-week meaning-reconstruction phone call) aimed at reducing anxiety and increasing breastfeeding self-efficacy.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-10-01
• Primary completion: 2026-01-01
• Completion: 2026-03-01
• First posted: 2025-12-09
• Last updated: 2025-12-18

Locations

1 site across 1 country: China