Demographic and baseline characteristics of the participants
| Characteristics; no (%) | Reiki (n=40) | Control (n=40) | Difference mean (95% CI) | p Value |
| Maternal age (years) | ||||
| Mean±SD | 35.1±5 | 32.9±6 | 2.2 (−0.3 to 4.7) | 0.06 |
| Range | 21 to 44 | 19 to 44 | ||
| No of previous C-sections† | ||||
| Median | 1 | 1 | NA | 0.90 |
| Range | 0 to 3 | 0 to 3 | ||
| Ethnicity* | ||||
| Caucasian | 19 (47.5%) | 16 (40%) | NA | 0.51 |
| Asian | 12 (30%) | 14 (35%) | NA | |
| Hispanic | 3 (7.5%) | 7 (17.5%) | NA | |
| Afro Carribbean | 5 (12.5%) | 3 (7.5%) | NA | |
| Other (Iranian) | 1 (2.5%) | 0 | NA | |
| Self-reported pain-tolerance score: scale (1 to 10) | ||||
| Mean±SD | 6.2±2.1 | 6.6±1.6 | −0.4 (−1.2 to 0.4) | 0.40 |
| Range | 1 to 10 | 2 to 10 | ||
| Weight of mother (kg) | ||||
| Mean±SD | 83±12.6 | 79±15.5 | 4 (−2.3 to 10.3) | 0.22 |
| Range | 54 to 111 | 54 to 145 | ||
| Previous pregnancies | ||||
| First-time pregnancy* | 4 (10%) | 6 (10%) | ||
| >4 pregnancies* | 3 (7.5%) | 4 (10%) | ||
| Mean±SD | 2.8±1.2 | 2.6±1.2 | 0.2 (−0.3 to 0.7) | 0.40 |
| Range | 1 to 6 | 1 to 6 | ||
| No of children living† | ||||
| Median | 1 | 1 | NA | 0.94 |
| Range | 0 to 4 | 0 to 3 | ||
| Duration of Caesarean section surgery (min) | ||||
| Mean±SD | 41.9±11.9 | 45.3±19.2 | −34 (−10.5 to 3.7) | 0.35 |
| Range | 23 to 70 | 28 to 146 | ||
| Baby Apgar scores (1 to 10) | ||||
| 1 min (mean)±SD | 8.7±0.6 | 8.7±0.7 | 0 (−0.3 to 0.3) | 0.88 |
| 5 min (mean)±SD | 9.1±0.5 | 9.3±0.5 | −0.2 (−0.4 to 0) | 0.15 |
| Weight of newborn babies (g) | ||||
| Mean±SD | 3579±469 | 3228±424 | 351 (152 to 550) | <0.001‡ |
| Range | 2745 to 5315 | 2625 to 4332 | ||
| No of babies over 4000 g | 5 (12.5%) | 4 (10%) | ||
| Gestational age of babies (weeks) | ||||
| Mean±SD | 38.5±0.7 | 38.3±0.6 | 0.2 (−0.1 to 0.5) | 0.08 |
| Range | 37.5 to 40.5 | 37 to 39.5 | ||
↵* p Values for comparisons of ethnicity and number of pregnancies was determined by Fisher exact test. All other comparisons were determined using an unpaired t test unless noted.
↵† Mann–Whitney U test for non-parametric data. Self-reported pain tolerance scores were taken before the C-section. A score of ‘1’ was low pain tolerance, while a score of ‘10’ was high pain tolerance.
‡ Significance (p<0.05).
NA, not applicable to median or proportion calculations.