A review of the articles on the effect of the Qur'an on maternal and fetal outcomes: a brief report

Childbirth is recognized as one of the most important events in a woman's life. In some Islamic sources, there are different instructions to reduce labor pains, one of which is reciting the Quran. Due to the impact of religious values on various aspects of human life, the present study aimed to review the articles related to the influence of the Qur'an on the maternal and fetal outcomes and based on studies conducted in Iran and the world and based on articles published in Scopus, Magiran, SID, Pubmed databases, as well as Google Scholar search engine. After completing the search and evaluation of articles, 12 articles which were conducted in the years 2010-2021 were included in the study. The results of the study pointed out that listening to the Quran is significantly associated with a reduction in pain intensity, length of labor, anxiety, stable blood pressure and maternal heart rate during labor, as well as an improvement in the neonatal health assessment score (Apkar). Considering the effect of the Quran on relieving labor pains and improving maternal psychological conditions during labor, it can be used as one of the effective measures in the promotion of childbirth health.