‘Forest Prenatal Care’ Effective for Emotional Stability of Pregnant Women and Spouses

A study has found that forest prenatal care has a positive effect on the emotional stability of pregnant women and their spouses.

The Korea Forest Welfare Institute announced on the 7th that, as part of last year's "Healthy Birth, Happy Family" project, it analyzed the effects of the forest prenatal care forest healing program on pregnant women and their spouses and confirmed positive effects.

Participants in the forest healing program at Yeongju Forest Healing Center are engaging in forest healing activities under the guidance of an instructor. The photo is unrelated to the article. Source=Asia Economy DB (Korea Forest Welfare Institute)

To analyze the effects of forest prenatal care, the Forest Welfare Institute surveyed 120 pregnant women to investigate the impact on the attachment relationship between the pregnant women and their fetuses, as well as the fear (stress) felt by the pregnant women after forest prenatal care.

As a result, the attachment relationship between pregnant women and their fetuses increased from 72.89 points before forest prenatal care to 76.90 points after, a rise of 4.01 points (4.18%). The stress felt by pregnant women decreased from 32.09 points to 23.78 points, a reduction of 8.31 points (10.39%), showing that pregnant women experienced relatively higher emotional stability after forest prenatal care.

Forest prenatal care also showed positive effects for expectant fathers. Among 81 expectant fathers who participated in the study, the attachment score with the fetus increased from 87.58 points before forest prenatal care to 94.04 points after, an increase of 6.46 points (6.46%).

Nam Taeheon, President of the Korea Forest Welfare Institute, said, "Through this study, we were able to numerically prove that forest prenatal care enhances the attachment relationship between pregnant women and their fetuses and reduces stress in pregnant women," adding, "Based on the research results, the Forest Welfare Institute plans to actively expand the forest prenatal care project this year."