Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer

Spiritual emotional freedom technique (SEFT) improved autonomic nervous activity in primipara

  • Asri Hidayat ,
  • Ova Emila ,
  • Fatwa Sari Tetra Dewi ,
  • Sumarni Sumarni ,


Abstract

Introduction: Anxiety is one of prevalent mental disorders in pregnant women and causes alteration in autonomic nervous system (ANS) function and cardiovascular system adaptation. It could potentially lead to increased risk of maternal complications and morbidity. SEFT had been known to lower anxiety level and autonomic nervous system activity but its application in pregnant women is still debated. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of SEFT in primipara women.

Method: a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group study was conducted in Bantul District, Yogyakarta, Indonesia involving primipara who fulfilled the research criteria. SEFT was performed at the 9th month of pregnancy and 1 week before the estimated date of delivery. LF/HF ratio was assessed and compared in the two groups as representation of HRV and autonomic nervous activity.

Results: 62 primiparous women were enrolled in this study and divided equally to the intervention and control group. This study showed that the LF/HF ratio was already different between the two groups at the beginning of the study. However, while the mean of LF/HF ratio was decreasing in the intervention group, an increasing trend was observed in the control group. Finally, the comparison of the mean difference between the two groups revealed that SEFT significantly lowered the ratio of LF/HF in primipara, thus improving the HRV.

Conclusion: SEFT effectively lowered LF/HF ratio in primipara women which might indicate a better balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve responses. However, further study should be conducted to validate the application of SEFT in pregnant women with anxiety.

Keywords: Anxiety Primiparous LF/HF ratio HRV SEFT

References

  1. Nuraini, Wahyuni Sri, Windiana Tri, Oktavia Evi KY. Profil Penduduk Indonesia Hasil SUPAS 2015. Badan Pusat Statistik; 2015.
  2. Ermalena. Indikator Kesehatan SDGs. Acta Math Acad Sci Hungaricae. 1980;35(3-4):451-453. doi:10.1007/BF01886316
  3. Graham W, Woodd S, Byass P, et al. Diversity and divergence: the dynamic burden of poor maternal health. Lancet. 2016;388(10056):2164-2175. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31533-1
  4. Qiu C, Williams MA, Calderon-Margalit R, Cripe SM, Sorensen TK. Preeclampsia risk in relation to maternal mood and anxiety disorders diagnosed before or during early pregnancy. Am J Hypertens. 2009;22(4):397-402. doi:10.1038/ajh.2008.366
  5. Kemenkes RI. Profil Kesehatan Indonesia 2016.; 2017.
  6. Braeken MAKA, Jones A, Otte RA, NyklíÄek I, Van den Bergh BRH. Potential benefits of mindfulness during pregnancy on maternal autonomic nervous system function and infant development. Psychophysiology. 2017;54(2):279-288. doi:10.1111/psyp.12782
  7. Thayer JF, Yamamoto SS, Brosschot JF. The relationship of autonomic imbalance, heart rate variability and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Int J Cardiol. 2010;141(2):122-131. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2009.09.543
  8. Royal College of Midwives. Maternal emotional wellbeing and infant development: A good practice guide for Midwives. Published online 2012:11-12.
  9. Abbas AE, Lester SJ, Connolly H. Pregnancy and the cardiovascular system. Int J Cardiol. 2005;98(2):179-189. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2003.10.028
  10. Klinkenberg A V., Nater UM, Nierop A, Bratsikas A, Zimmermann R, Ehlert U. Heart rate variability changes in pregnant and non-pregnant women during standardized psychosocial stress. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2009;88(1):77-82. doi:10.1080/00016340802566762
  11. Moertl MG, Ulrich D, Pickel KI, et al. Changes in haemodynamic and autonomous nervous system parameters measured non-invasively throughout normal pregnancy. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2009;144(SUPPL 1). doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2009.02.037
  12. Chambers R, Lo B, Allen N. The Impact of Intensive Mindfulness Training on Attentional Control, Cognitive Style, and Affect. Cognit Ther Res. 2008;32:303-322. doi:10.1007/s10608-007-9119-0
  13. Lucini D, Di Fede G, Parati G, Pagani M. Impact of chronic psychosocial stress on autonomic cardiovascular regulation in otherwise healthy subjects. Hypertens (Dallas, Tex 1979). 2005;46(5):1201-1206. doi:10.1161/01.HYP.0000185147.32385.4b
  14. Chatwin H, Stapleton P, Porter B, Devine S, Sheldon T. The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Emotional Freedom Techniques in Reducing Depression and Anxiety Among Adults: A Pilot Study. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2016;15(2):27-34.
  15. Aslami E, Alipour A, Najib FS, Aghayosefi A. A Comparative study of mindfulness efficiency based on islamic-spiritual schemes and group cognitive behavioral therapy. Int J community based Nurs midwifery. 2017;5(2):144-152.
  16. Zaenudin AF. Spiritual Emotional Freedom Technoque (SEFT) For Healing. Afzan Publising; 2006.
  17. Kamath V Markad, Watanabe Mari A U adrian R. Heart Rate Variability HRV) Signal Analysis Clinical Applications. CRC Press; 2013.
  18. Bach D, Groesbeck G, Stapleton P, Sims R, Blickheuser K, Church D. Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health. J Evidence-Based Integr Med. 2019;24:1-12. doi:10.1177/2515690X18823691
  19. Perrotta AS, Jeklin AT, Hives BA, Meanwell LE, Warburton DER. Validity of the Elite HRV Smartphone Application for Examining Heart Rate Variability in a Field-Based Setting. J strength Cond Res. 2017;31(8):2296-2302. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001841
  20. Carney RM, Freedland KE. Depression and heart rate variability in patients with coronary heart disease. Cleve Clin J Med. 2009;76(SUPPL.2). doi:10.3949/ccjm.76.s2.03
  21. Bleil ME, Gianaros PJ, Jennings JR, Flory JD, Manuck SB. Trait negative affect: Toward an integrated model of understanding psychological risk for impairment in cardiac autonomic function. Psychosom Med. 2008;70(3):328-337. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e31816baefa
  22. Malik M, Camm AJ, Bigger JT, et al. Heart rate variability. Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use. Eur Heart J. 1996;17(3):354-381. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.eurheartj.a014868
  23. Gary G. Berntsona, Greg J. Normana, Louise C. Hawkleyb and JTC. Cardiac Autonomic Balance vs. Cardiac Regulatory Capacity. Published online 2008. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00652.x
  24. Cary C. Emotional Freedom Techniques for Back Pain.; 2008.
  25. Lehrer PM, Gevirtz R. Heart rate variability biofeedback: How and why does it work? Front Psychol. 2014;5(JUL):1-9. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00756
  26. Church D. The Effect of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) on Athletic Performance: A Randomized Controlled Blind Trial. Open Sports Sci J. 2010;2(1):94-99. doi:10.2174/1875399x00902010094
  27. Feinstein D. Acupoint stimulation in treating psychological disorders: Evidence of efficacy. Rev Gen Psychol. 2012;16(4):364-380. doi:10.1037/a0028602
  28. Kamath M, Watanabe M, Upton A. Heart rate variability (HRV) signal analysis : clinical applications. In: ; 2012.

How to Cite

Hidayat, A., Emila, O., Dewi, F. S. T., & Sumarni, S. (2021). Spiritual emotional freedom technique (SEFT) improved autonomic nervous activity in primipara. Bali Medical Journal, 10(1), 361–365. https://doi.org/10.15562/bmj.v10i1.2178
ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard IEEE MLA Turabian Vancouver
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX

HTML
2

Total
15

Share

Search Panel

Asri Hidayat
Google Scholar
Pubmed
BMJ Journal

Ova Emila
Google Scholar
Pubmed
BMJ Journal

Fatwa Sari Tetra Dewi
Google Scholar
Pubmed
BMJ Journal

Sumarni Sumarni
Google Scholar
Pubmed
BMJ Journal