The Effect of Haptonomy on Fear of Childbirth and Maternal-fetal Attachment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background Haptonomy is considered one of the non-pharmacological interventions in reducing Fear of Childbirth (FOC) and increasing Maternal Fetal Attachment (MFA). No review study has been conducted for an evidence-based conclusion in this regard. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the pooled effect of haptonomy on FOC and MFA. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted in an electronic database (Scopus, Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials.gov, Embase, ProQuest, PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, SID, and Magiran) until January 30(th), 2023, to find all interventional studies that reported the effect of haptonomy on FOC and MFA. Results A total of 26 relevant articles were retrieved in the search, of which 4 articles were included in the systematic review. Meta-analysis was conducted for three research studies with the outcome of FOC and three studies with the outcome of MFA. The meta-analysis of three research conducted on 239 participants indicated the positive effect of hatonomy intervention on reducing FOC (MD: -22.91; 95% CI: -28.21 to -17.61; p < .001), and owing to the moderate heterogeneity, the random effect model was used (I-2 = 41.38%). The results of the meta-analysis of three research with 286 participants indicated the ineffectiveness of haptonomy intervention on the MFA (MD: 4.35; 95% CI: -2.72 to 11.42; p = .23) (I-2 = 59.95%). Conclusion Haptonomy intervention during pregnancy reduces FOC without playing any role in increasing MFA. However, conducting the clinical trials with a larger sample size by means of standard tools is recommended due to the limited number of haptonomy interventions on MFA and the moderate heterogeneity of reviewed studies.