The impact of antenatal coping skill training (ACST) towards cortisol and IgG serum level among pregnant women

Introduction: Stress coping skill is beneficial to make better outcomes of pregnancy and childbirth. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of antenatal coping skill training on Cortisol and IgG levels. Method: This study used a randomized pre-test post-test control group design in which the ages of primigravida (24-34 weeks) in Semarang City Public Health Center were selected randomly. The mothers were randomly assigned to be an experiment group (N=31) and a control group (N=31). There were two pregnant women who dropped out because of giving birth. The experiment group was given the standard antenatal education and antenatal coping skill training while the control group was given the standard antenatal education only. The data collection was conducted in 4 weeks. Cortisol and IgG serum level were taken at the first week before the intervention and fourth week after the intervention. Cortisol and IgG serum level were measured by using ELISA method. The data analysis employed dependent sample t-test and independent sample t-test. Results: There was a significant change over Cortisol serum level for the intervention group (p<.01), but not in the control group. However, there was a significant change in the decrease of IgG serum level in the control group (p<.01). Conclusion: Antenatal coping skill training is predominantly effective to reduce Cortisol and enhance IgG serum levels. Thus, it is important for pregnant women to join antenatal psychoeducational training. Keywords: coping skill, cortisol, IgG serum, primigravid