The Effect of Hypnotherapy on Postpartum Pain and Depression in Women with Post Caesarean Delivery

Background: Postoperative pain is one of the most common problems in women after cesarean section. Caesarean section is also associated with post-partum depression. Hypno­therapy is one of the complementary therapy options that are effective and efficient in reducing pain symptoms and post-partum depression. This study aimed to analyze the effect of hypnotherapy on the level of pain and post-partum depression in post-cesarean section patients. Subjects and Method: This was an expe­rimental single-blind randomized controlled trial with a post-test group design, which was conducted from January to April 2021, at the Dr. Moewardi and Universitas Sebelas Maret Hospitals, Surakarta. A sample of 80 patients with cesarean section was divided into two groups, namely 40 pati­ents in the hypno­therapy group and 40 patients in the control group. The indepen­dent variable was hypno­therapy. The depen­dent variables were pain and depression. Hypnotherapy was carried out by self-hypnosis using audio recordings of hypnotherapy in 2 sessions before and after the cesarean section procedure. The pain was measured by the Numeric Rating Scale. Post-partum depression was measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The data were analyzed by an independent t-test. Results: Post-cesarean section pain in the group of hypnotherapy (Mean= 4.58; SD= 1.20) was lower than without hypnotherapy (Mean= 6.48; SD= 1.01), and it was statis­tically significant (p<0.001). Postpartum de-pression in the group of hypnothera­py (Mean= 6.08; SD= 1.60) was lower than non-hypnotherapy group (Mean= 8.48; SD= 3.78), and it was statis­tically significant (p <0.001). Conclusion: Hypnotherapy has a significant effect on reducing pain and post-partum depression in post-cesarean section patients. Keyword s : Hypnotherapy, pain levels, post-partum depression, post-cesarean section Correspondence:  Araafi Hariza Mahandaru. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medi­cine, Universitas Sebelas Maret/ Dr. Moe­wardi Hospital, Surakarta, Jl. Kolonel Sutar­to, Jebres, Surakarta 57126, Central Java. Email: mahandarurafi@gmail.com. Indonesian Journal of Medicine (2021), 06(02): 194-205 https://doi.org/10.26911/theijmed.2021.06.02.08