Mixed-methods single-arm repeated measures study evaluating the feasibility of massage as an adjunct approach to care for pregnant women who have experienced a stillbirth Dataset

Research shows that women experiencing pregnancy after stillbirth experience anxiety, fear, and depression. There is limited evidence of adjunct emotional care approaches for women to utilise to help manage pregnancy after a stillbirth. Massage may assist women who are pregnant after a stillbirth via decreasing anxiety, worry and stress. The study aims to measure the feasibility of massage as an adjunct approach to care for pregnant women who have experienced a stillbirth. Design: This study used a convergent parallel mixed-methods, single arm repeated measures pilot trial design. Setting: Massage therapists’ private clinics across Australia. Participants: Subjects were 76 pregnant women who have experienced a stillbirth in a previous pregnancy. Intervention: Women received up to five massages during their pregnancy at intervals of their choosing. The massage treatments are based on a vulnerability-to-stress concept which acknowledges the impact of stress on a pregnant woman based on a biopsychosocial model.
Significance of the work:
Standard antenatal care is emotionally unsuitable for many women in pregnancies following a stillbirth and there is a lack of direct evidence on what interventions or approaches to care might benefit these women. Our feasibility research will begin to address this lack of direct evidence.

This dataset contains three excel spreadsheets recording data from the HOPES study covering demographics, anxiety, stress, worry, coping, self-efficacy, treatment timing, patient reported outcome measures, side effects and other support services used.