Clinical Research Directory

In the pre-anesthesia room, give the patient a sterilized, palm-sized elastic stress ball. Instruct her to repeatedly "squeeze for 3 s, then relax," optionally with slow breathing or silently counting 1-3, and to use it as needed when anxious. The intervention begins on entry into the pre-anesthesia room and continues until the end of surgery. Four standardized periods are set: (1) after entry into the pre-anesthesia room and completion of pre-intervention data collection; (2) after entry into the operating room and before neuraxial anesthesia; (3) after anesthesia completion and vital-sign stabilization until before fetal delivery; (4) after fetal delivery until before the end of surgery. In each period, continuous intervention lasts 5 min, with a minimum cumulative intervention time of 20 min per participant. After the minimum dose, the parturient may use the stress ball as needed for anxiety or discomfort if it does not interfere with monitoring, anesthesia, or surgery.