A study to assess the effectiveness of planned teaching programme on water birth among adolescent girls in a selected college at Mangalore

The experience of pain during labour is a complex, individual and multifaceted response to sensory stimuli generated during childbirth. Despite the fact that labour is painful for most women, a powerful myth of painless childbirth still prevails. Many alternative methods of pain relief are available that are safe and inexpensive. One of them is water birth. Water birth is the process of giving birth in a tub of warm water. The theory behind water birth is that the baby has been in the amniotic sac for nine months and birthing into a similar environment is gentler for the baby and less stressful for the mother. Adolescence is the time to prepare for understanding great responsibilities, a time for exploration and widening horizons, and a time to ensure healthy all round development. Puberty is also a time of behavioural changes when the reproductive capacities get established. Midwives are ‘with woman’, providing the family with supportive and helpful relationships as they share the deep and profound experiences of childbirth. To become skilled helpers nursing students need to develop reflective skills and valid midwifery knowledge grounded in their personal experiences and practice.AimThe aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of planned teaching programme on water birth among adolescent girls in a selected college at Mangalore.MethodAn evaluative approach with quasi experimental, pre-test post-test design without control group was used for the study. The data was collected from 60 adolescent girls using simple random sampling technique. The study was conducted in selected college at Mangalore.ResultsThere was significant difference between per-test and post-test knowledge score (t = 44.23, p < 0.05). There was no association between the pre-test knowledge score and selected variables.ConclusionAll the subjects in the study group gained knowledge on water birth indicating that planned teaching programme was an effective method for increasing knowledge.