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LaPPS: Labor Podcast for Patient Satisfaction

The Effect of a Labor Podcast Intervention on Patient Satisfaction and Postpartum Depression in Nulliparous Women

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04933708
Acronym
LaPPS
Enrollment
201
Registered
2021-06-22
Start date
2021-07-01
Completion date
2022-07-01
Last updated
2025-04-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Labor Onset and Length Abnormalities, Pregnancy Related

Keywords

Nulliparity, Podcast, Labor

Brief summary

Patients will be enrolled at 28w0d-36w0d. Randomized to one of two arms: 1. Labor podcasts - Seven labor podcasts that can be downloaded for any podcast app 2. Usual care

Detailed description

Objectives Overall objectives To assess the effect of listening to physician-created podcasts of common labor topics on patient satisfaction and perception of their birth experience Primary outcome variable(s) Patient satisfaction as measured by LAS + 2 satisfaction questions Secondary outcome variable(s) Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) scores Logistic regression for multivariate analysis with regards to demographics and other birth outcomes Background Recently, podcasts have been used for both undergraduate and graduate medical education, with studies showing that they are feasible, acceptable, and effective. Learners appear to enjoy podcast learning because they increased efficiency by allowing listeners to multitask, made listeners keep up to date with medical literature, and increased overall knowledge. However, podcast learning has not been as widespread for patient education. There have been some studies that showed that podcast patient education is feasible, and one small study showed increased knowledge scores after listening to podcasts. To our knowledge, podcast learning has never been studied in the obstetric population. Labor and delivery is usually a time that is fraught with questions from first time mothers, and more education may increase these women's perception of control and satisfaction overall with birth and the postpartum period. The Labor Agentry Scale (LAS)-10 is a validated instrument measuring expectancies and experiences of personal control during childbirth. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is also a validated scale that measures levels of postpartum depression that is commonly used at our institution both immediately postpartum and at the postpartum visit 4-6 weeks after delivery. Study Design Design Pregnant patients between 28w0d - 36w0d will be randomized to one of the following study arms upon enrollment. Patients will be approached after 20 weeks for consent and randomized after they reach 28 weeks. The study will be done in an intent-to-treat fashion. Due to the nature of the study, blinding will not be possible. Study Arms 1) Labor Podcast Group - Women randomized to this arm will receive access to a link to download seven HUP physician created labor podcasts in addition to usual care during labor, delivery, and postpartum o Podcast topics: Labor Anesthesia, Induction of Labor, Second Stage of Labor, Reasons for Cesarean Section, Postpartum Recovery, Complications of Labor and Birth, Normal Labor * LAS-10 and Birth Satisfaction survey - Women will be sent these surveys on postpartum day 2 via method they indicated they desire (either email or text message) * EPDS - Women will receive this survey on postpartum day 7 via method they desire 2\. Usual care Women randomized to this arm will receive usual care during labor, delivery, and postpartum with the following exceptions: * LAS-10 and Birth Satisfaction survey Women will be sent these surveys on postpartum day 2 via method they indicated they desire (either email or text message) * EPDS Women will receive this survey on postpartum day 7 via method they desire Study duration Estimated length of time to enroll all subjects and complete the study Length of a subject's participation time in study Project date of the proposed study Estimated length of time to enroll all subjects and complete study: Based on previous studies using the LAS-10, average score ranged between 45-53/70, with standard deviations ranging from 6-12. Therefore, we would estimate that the LAS score in the usual care group to be approximately 50. To be able to detect an effect size of 4, with a standard deviation of 9, and to achieve a power of 0.8 and alpha of 0.05, we would need a sample size of approximately 79 subjects per group. Calculating for a 20% loss to follow-up rate, we would anticipate recruiting 95 subjects per group. Our city has an average of 16% preterm birth rate. Our hospital averages 1400 nulliparous deliveries/year. We would conservatively estimate approaching 50% of these women in the prenatal period for enrollment. If we assume a 75% consent rate for the RCT, which is standard for our center, we anticipate enrolling 30-36 women per month in our study. We would therefore anticipate it taking 6 months before we reach our target sample size. We would then require an additional 6 months to compile and analyze the data. Length of subject's participation: Women will be followed from time of consent until 7 days postpartum Women will be followed from time of consent until 7 days postpartum. Project date of the proposed study: Proposed to start April 2021 for recruitment and enrollment. We anticipate enrolling all patients by end of September 2021. We would likely be able to conclude the study by April 2022. Resources necessary for human research protection Subjects will be recruited from looking at antepartum clinic charts and messaged via MPM once they are deemed eligible. This can be one by Dr. Cai and Dr. Srinivas. Both will be trained in the study protocol prior to enrolling subjects. The research staff will also distribute information regarding the study to the aforementioned prenatal clinics so that written information can be handed out by providers to patients. This will allow for patients to be aware of the study. However, only study personnel will be able to consent and enroll patients.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALLabor Podcast

Listening to podcasts. Topics include: Labor Anesthesia, Induction of Labor, Second Stage of Labor, Reasons for Cesarean Section, Postpartum Recovery, Complications of Labor and Birth

Sponsors

University of Pennsylvania
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Caregiver)

Masking description

Those that provide care for patients on the labor floor will not know if they have had access to labor podcasts or not.

Intervention model description

Pregnant patients between 28w0d - 36w0d will be randomized to one of the following study arms upon enrollment. Patients will be approached after 20 weeks for consent and randomized after they reach 28 weeks. The study will be done in an intent-to-treat fashion. Due to the nature of the study, blinding will not be possible. Study Arms 1. Labor Podcast Group 2. Usual Teaching

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Nulliparous * Singleton pregnancy * English-speaking * Age 18-50 * Own a smart phone or device capable of downloading podcasts * Reached at least 36w0d of gestation * Willing and able to sign consent form

Exclusion criteria

* Planned cesarean delivery * Complication in pregnancy including: * Placenta accrete spectrum * Vasa previa * Intrauterine fetal demise * Known major fetal anomaly * Delivery planned at location other than the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Labor Agentry Scale2 days after deliverySubjects will complete the labor agentry scale after delivery. Score on labor agentry scale will be compared between groups. Score range: 10-70. Higher scores indicate more agentry, which we consider to be better for this study.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Birth Satisfaction2 days after deliverySubjects will also complete a birth satisfaction survey after delivery. Score on birth satisfaction will be compared between two groups. Score range: 3 - 21. Higher scores indicate higher satisfaction.
Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale7 days postpartumSubjects will complete the EPDS 7 days postpartum. Scores will be compared between the two groups. Score range: 0-30. Higher scores indicate more risk of depression

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Labor Podcast Group
1\) Labor Podcast Group - Women randomized to this arm will receive access to a link to download six HUP physician created labor podcasts in addition to usual care during labor, delivery, and postpartum o Podcast topics: Labor Anesthesia, Induction of Labor, Second Stage of Labor, Reasons for Cesarean Section, Postpartum Recovery, Complications of Labor and Birth * LAS-10 and Birth Satisfaction survey - Women will be sent these surveys on postpartum day 2 via method they indicated they desire (either email or text message) * EPDS - Women will receive this survey on postpartum day 7 via method they desire Labor Podcast: Listening to podcasts. Topics include: Labor Anesthesia, Induction of Labor, Second Stage of Labor, Reasons for Cesarean Section, Postpartum Recovery, Complications of Labor and Birth
78
Usual Care
2\. Usual care Women randomized to this arm will receive usual care during labor, delivery, and postpartum with the following exceptions: * LAS-10 and Birth Satisfaction survey Women will be sent these surveys on postpartum day 2 via method they indicated they desire (either email or text message) * EPDS Women will receive this survey on postpartum day 7 via method they desire
75
Total153

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicUsual CareTotalLabor Podcast Group
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
75 Participants153 Participants78 Participants
Age, Continuous29.3 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.08
30 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 6
30.4 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.26
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
6 Participants18 Participants12 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
24 Participants47 Participants23 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
10 Participants15 Participants5 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
35 Participants73 Participants38 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
75 participants153 participants78 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
75 Participants153 Participants78 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 00 / 0
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 00 / 0
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 00 / 0

Outcome results

Primary

Labor Agentry Scale

Subjects will complete the labor agentry scale after delivery. Score on labor agentry scale will be compared between groups. Score range: 10-70. Higher scores indicate more agentry, which we consider to be better for this study.

Time frame: 2 days after delivery

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Labor Podcast GroupLabor Agentry Scale57 score on a scale
Usual CareLabor Agentry Scale54 score on a scale
Secondary

Birth Satisfaction

Subjects will also complete a birth satisfaction survey after delivery. Score on birth satisfaction will be compared between two groups. Score range: 3 - 21. Higher scores indicate higher satisfaction.

Time frame: 2 days after delivery

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Labor Podcast GroupBirth Satisfaction20 score on a scale
Usual CareBirth Satisfaction18 score on a scale
Secondary

Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale

Subjects will complete the EPDS 7 days postpartum. Scores will be compared between the two groups. Score range: 0-30. Higher scores indicate more risk of depression

Time frame: 7 days postpartum

Population: Subjects are same as previously described

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Labor Podcast GroupEdinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale4 score on a scale
Usual CareEdinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale3 score on a scale

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026