Effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique on Quality of Life among Pregnant Women.

Background: As pregnancy advances, maintaining a high Quality of life becomes increasingly challenging due to fatigue, bodily discomfort and emotional fluctuations. Aim of the study: This study aimed to evaluate quality of life among pregnant women. Design: A quasi-experimental study design (study and control groups) was used. Setting: This study was conducted at Obstetrics and Gynecological Out- patient Clinic in Benha University Hospital. Sample: A purposive sample included (140) pregnant women. Tools of data collection: Three tools were used, tool I: A structured interviewing questionnaire which included three parts: general characteristics of pregnant women, obstetrical and gynecological history and current pregnancy profile, tool II: World Health Organization Quality of Life - BREF, tool III: Women's Satisfaction Sheet. Results: There was no statistically significant differences between the study and control groups regarding all subscales of quality of life at pre intervention stage (p > 0.05). While, there were highly statistically significant differences between the study and control groups regarding all subscales of quality of life at post intervention stage (p < 0.01). Also, there was a marked improvement in all subscales of quality of life among study group after implementation of progressive muscle relaxation technique with a highly statistically significant difference compared to pre intervention (P= < 0.01). There was highly statistically significant positive correlation between total quality of life score and total satisfaction score among the study group at post implementation of progressive muscle relaxation technique at (P= < 0.01). Conclusion: Application of progressive muscle relaxation technique had a positive effect on improving the quality of life in the study group of pregnant women compared to the control group with a highly statistically significant difference (P= ≤ 0.001). Recommendations: Incorporating progressive muscle relaxation into routine antenatal care programs as a safe, cost effective and non-pharmacological strategy for improving quality of life during pregnancy.