Journal of Education and Health Promotion

The effect of teaching religious principles on the infants’ growth and development

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Tahereh Mokhtaryan Gilani
. Fatemeh Ghodrati 1
. Zahra Yazdanpanahi 2
. Sedigheh Amooee 3
. Marzieh Akbarzadeh 4

1 Department of Theology, Faculty of Humanities Science College, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

2 Department of Midwifery, Student Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

4 Department of Midwifery, Maternal‑Fetal Medicine Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Teaching religious principles can inevitably strengthen the mothers’ motivation
and may improve the infant’s growth indices. This study aimed to investigate the effect of teaching
religious principles on the infants’ growth and development from birth up to the age of 3 months.
METHODS: In a randomized controlled tria1, 84 primiparous women who had average or weak
religious attitude were randomly divided into intervention and control groups in 2013. The intervention
group attended six 90‑min sessions of religious education held once a week. The control group
received the routine pregnancy care. Data were collected through physical growth indices and
Denver’s questionnaire.
RESULTS: A significant difference was found between the intervention and control groups regarding
the head circumference at birth (34.61 ± 1.51 vs. 32.97 ± 6.98). Besides, a significant relationship
was observed between religious knowledge before delivery and infants’ development in gross motor
skills (P = 0.047, r = 0.114) and major motor skills (P = 0.019, r = 0.359) at 1 month of age, and
also language skills (P = 0.015, r = 0.119), major motor skills (P = 0.008, r = 0.404), and fine motor
skills (P = 0.035, r = 0.425) at the age of 3 months in the intervention group.
CONCLUSION: Training the pregnant mothers regarding religious principles was effective in some
indices of infants’ physical growth and development.

Keywords

Development
infant
physical
religion
  1. Silventoinen K, Pietiläinen KH, Tynelius P, Sørensen TI, Kaprio J,
    Rasmussen F. Genetic and environmental factors in relative
    weight from birth to age 18: The Swedish young male twins study.
    Int J Obes (Lond) 2007;31:615‑21.
    2. Hill K, Choi Y. Neonatal mortality in the developing world.
    J Health Manage 2006;14:429‑52. Available from: https://www.
    demographic‑research.org/volumes/vol14/18/default.htm.
    [Last accessed on 2019 Jul 09].
    3. Engmann C, Matendo R, Kinoshita R, Ditekemena J, Moore J,
    Goldenberg RL, et al. Stillbirth and early neonatal mortality in
    rural central Africa. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2009;105:112‑7.
    4. Darmstadt GL, Bhutta ZA, Cousens S, Adam T, Walker N, de
    Bernis L, et al. Evidence‑based, cost‑effective interventions: How
    many newborn babies can we save? Lancet 2005;365:977‑88.
    5. Kerstjens JM, de Winter AF, Sollie KM, Bocca‑Tjeertes IF,
    Potijk MR, Reijneveld SA, et al. Maternal and pregnancy‑related
    factors associated with developmental delay in moderately
    preterm‑born children. Obstet Gynecol 2013;121:727‑33.
    6. Olsen EM, Skovgaard AM, Weile B, Jørgensen T. Risk factors
    for failure to thrive in infancy depend on the anthropometric
    definitions used: The Copenhagen County Child Cohort. Paediatr
    Perinat Epidemiol 2007;21:418‑31.
    7. Ramakrishnan U. Nutrition and low birth weight: From research
    to practice. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;79:17‑21.
    8. Wardlaw TM. Low Birthweight: Country, Regional and Global
    Estimates. Geneva: UNICEF and WHO Publications; 2004.
    Available from: http://www.who.int/iris/handle/10665/43184.
    9. Golestan M, Akhavan Karbasi S, Fallah R. Prevalence and risk
    factors for low birth weight in Yazd, Iran. Singapore Med J
    2011;52:730‑3.
    10. Vahdaninia M, Tavafian SS, Montazeri A. Correlates of low birth
    weight in term pregnancies: A retrospective study from Iran. BMC
    Pregnancy Childbirth 2008;8:12.
    11. Behrman KJ. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 17th ed. USA: W.B.
    Saunders Com.; 2004. p. 1275‑86.
    12. Szwajcer EM, Hiddink GJ, Koelen MA, van Woerkum CM.
    Nutrition awareness and pregnancy: Implications for the
    life course perspective. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol
    2007;135:58‑64.
    13. Thassri J, Kala N, Chusintong L, Phongthanasarn J, Boonsrirat S,
    Jirojwong S. The development and evaluation of a health
    education programme for pregnant women in a regional hospital,
    Southern Thailand. J Adv Nurs 2000;32:1450‑8.
    14. NtoumanisN. Aself‑determination approach to the understanding
    of motivation in physical education. Br J Educ Psychol
    2001;71:225‑42.
    15. Thøgersen‑Ntoumani C, Ntoumanis N. The role of self‑determined
    motivation in the understanding of exercise‑related behaviours,
    cognitions and physical self‑evaluations. J Sports Sci
    2006;24:393‑404.
    16. Gomshai A. The Holy Quran, Surah Israa, Versa 82. Available
    from:. https://legacy.quran.com/January 2019
    17. Katerndahl D, Oyiriaru D. Assessing the biopsychosociospiritual
    model in primary care: Development of the biopsychosociospiritual
    inventory (BioPSSI). Int J Psychiatry Med 2007;37:393‑414.
    18. O’Connell KA, Skevington SM. The relevance of spirituality,
    religion and personal beliefs to health‑related quality of life:
    Themes from focus groups in Britain. Br J Health Psychol
    2005;10:379‑98.
    19. Gomshai A. The Holy Quran, Surah 16 versa 114 and surah 5,
    versa 4. Available from: https://legacy.quran.com/January 2019
    20. Salvador EP, Florindo AA, Reis RS, Costa EF. Perception of the
    environment and leisure‑time physical activity in the elderly. Rev
    Saude Publica 2009;43:972‑80.
    21. Bopp M, Lattimore D, Wilcox S, Laken M, McClorin L, Swinton R,
    et al. Understanding physical activity participation in members
    of an African American church: A qualitative study. Health Educ
    Res 2007;22:815‑26.
    22. Kanu M, Baker E, Brownson RC. Exploring associations between
    church‑based social support and physical activity. J Phys Act
    Health 2008;5:504‑15.
    23. Gomshai A. The Holy Quran, Surah 2, Versa 233. Available
    https://legacy.quran.com/January 2019
    24. Kalkhoran MA, Karimollahi M. Religiousness and preoperative
    anxiety: A correlational study. Ann Gen Psychiatry 2007;6:17.
    25. Glascoe FP. Are overreferrals on developmental screening tests
    really a problem? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2001;155:54‑9.
    26. Shahshahani S, Vameghi R, Azari N, Sajedi F, Kazemnejad A.
    Validity and reliability determination of Denver developmental
    screening test‑II in 0‑6 year‑olds in Tehran. Iran J Pediatr
    2010;20:313‑22.
    27. Zadik Z, Borondukov E, Zung A, Reifen R. Adult height and
    weight of breast‑fed and bottle‑fed Israeli infants. J Pediatr
    Gastroenterol Nutr 2003;37:462‑7.
    28. Barton YA, Miller L, Wickramaratne P, Gameroff MJ,
    Weissman MM. Religious attendance and social adjustment
    as protective against depression: A 10‑year prospective study.
    J Affect Disord 2013;146:53‑7.
    29. Gupta S, Avasthi A, Kumar S. Relationship between religiosity
    and psychopathology in patients with depression. Indian J
    Psychiatry 2011;53:330‑5.
  2. 30. Dalmida SG, Robertson B, Carrion MM, Thompson W, Erskine N,
    Scruggs N, et al. Spirituality, religiousness, psychosocial factors
    and maternal‑infant outcomes in Latina mothers. South Online J
    Nurs Res 2010;10:3. Available from.
    31. Santos IS, Barros AJ, Matijasevich A, Domingues MR, Barros FC,
    Victora CG. Cohort profile: The 2004 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort
    study. Int J Epidemiol 2011;40:1461‑8.
    32. Kreuter MW, Lukwago SN, Bucholtz RD, Clark EM,
    Sanders‑Thompson V. Achieving cultural appropriateness in
    health promotion programs: Targeted and tailored approaches.
    Health Educ Behav 2003;30:133‑46.
    33. Gilkey MB, Earp JA, French EA. Applying health education theory
    to patient safety programs: Three case studies. Health Promot
    Pract 2008;9:123‑9.
    34. Burr ML, Trembeth J, Jones KB, Geen J, Lynch LA, RobertsZE. The
    effects of dietary advice and vouchers on the intake of fruit and
    fruit juice by pregnant women in a deprived area: A controlled
    trial. Public Health Nutr 2007;10:559‑65.
    35. Vameghi R, Mohammad K, Karimloo M, Soleimani F, Sajedi F.
    The effects of health education through face to face teaching and
    educational movies, on Suburban women in childbearing age.
    Iran J Public Health 2010;39:77‑88.
    36. Yeh MC, Ickes SB, Lowenstein LM, Shuval K, Ammerman AS,
    Farris R, et al. Understanding barriers and facilitators of fruit and
    vegetable consumption among a diverse multi‑ethnic population
    in the USA. Health Promot Int 2008;23:42‑51.
    37. Rahman A, Bunn J, Lovel H, Creed F. Association between
    antenatal depression and low birthweight in a developing
    country. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2007;115:481‑6.
    38. Mao HJ, Li HJ, Chiu H, Chan WC, Chen SL. Effectiveness of
    antenatal emotional self‑management training program in
    prevention of postnatal depression in Chinese women. Perspect
    Psychiatr Care 2012;48:218‑24.
    39. BurnsA, O’MahenH, BaxterH, BennertK, WilesN, RamchandaniP,
    et al. A pilot randomised controlled trial of cognitive behavioural
    therapy for antenatal depression. BMC Psychiatry 2013;13:33.
    40. Van Hus JW, Jeukens‑Visser M, Koldewijn K, Geldof CJ, Kok JH,
    Nollet F, et al. Sustained developmental effects of the infant
    behavioral assessment and intervention program in very low birth
    weight infants at 5.5 years corrected age. J Pediatr 2013;162:1112‑9.
    41. Rezaeian A, Niknejad Jalali A, Mazlom S. An investigation of the
    effect of implementation of evidence‑based care package on the
    gross motor development of the foster care infants. Evid Based
    Care 2013;3:69‑78.
    42. Eickmann SH, Lima AC, Guerra MQ, Lima MC, Lira PI,
    Huttly SR, et al. Improved cognitive and motor development in
    a community‑based intervention of psychosocial stimulation in
    Northeast Brazil. Dev Med Child Neurol 2003;45:536‑41.
    43. Keim SA, Daniels JL, Dole N, Herring AH, Siega‑Riz AM,
    Scheidt PC. A prospective study of maternal anxiety, perceived
    stress, and depressive symptoms in relation to infant cognitive
    development. Early Hum Dev 2011;87:373‑80.
    44. Liu Y, Kaaya S, Chai J, McCoy DC, Surkan PJ, Black MM, et al.
    Maternal depressive symptoms and early childhood cognitive
    development: A meta‑analysis. Psychol Med 2017;47:680‑9.
    45. Dokuhaki A, Akbarzadeh M, Pishva N, Zare N. Study of the effect
    of training pregnant women about attachment skills on infants
    motor development indices at birth to four months. Fam Med
    Prim Care Rev 2017;19:114‑22.
    46. Dokuhaki S, Heidary M, Akbarzadeh M. Investigation of the effect
    of training attachment behaviors to pregnant mothers on some
    physical indicators of their infants from birth to three months
    based on the separation of male and female infants. Pediatr
    Neonatol 2018. pii: S1875‑9572 (17) 30782‑9.
    47. ToosiM, AkbarzadehM, SharifF, ZareN. The reduction of anxiety and
    improved maternal attachment to fetuses and neonates by relaxation
    training in primigravida women. Womens Health Bull 2014;1:e18968.
    48. Petzoldt J, Wittchen HU, Einsle F, Martini J. Maternal anxiety
    versus depressive disorders: Specific relations to infants’
    crying, feeding and sleeping problems. Child Care Health Dev
    2016;42:231‑45.
    49. Toosi M, Akbarzadeh M, Ghaemi Z. The effect of relaxation on
    mother’s anxiety and maternal‑fetal attachment in primiparous
    IVF mothers. J Natl Med Assoc 2017;109:164‑71.
    50. Lee LL, Harris SR. Psychometric properties and standardization
    samples of four screening tests for infants and young children:
    A review. Pediatr Phys Ther 2005;17:140‑7.
    51. Thakur A, Sharma S, Rani R. Assessment of mental and motor
    development of infants in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh.
    Anthropologist 2004;6:4.
Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 9, Issue 7
July 2019
Pages 1-8

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us