Effects of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Counseling on Anxiety among Primigravida Women Referred to Health Care Centers in Hamadan

Progressive muscle relaxation is a non-invasive, cost-effective and without complications method that can be done independently by the individual. Considering the importance of psychological problems during pregnancy, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of progressive muscle relaxation counseling on anxiety among primigravida women referred to health care centers in Hamadan. This study was a randomized clinical trial with two groups (experimental and control) with pre-test and post-test. 120 women were referred to health centers in Hamadan city who experience their first pregnancy consecutively enrolled in the study, after obtaining informed consent. They were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups (60 women in each group) by allocation concealment. The control group only received routine prenatal care but experimental group after two counseling sessions and learning muscle relaxation techniques performed progressive muscle relaxation exercises from 21-22 weeks for 10 weeks, and completed the daily performance sheet of relaxation. The study data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire, Spielberger State-Trait anxiety inventory and the daily performance sheet for intervention group. Data were analyzed in SPSS-20 using Independent Samples T Test, ANCOVA and Paired t test. Data analysis reflects the homogeneity of the state and trait anxiety levels in both groups before the intervention. The results showed that state and trait anxiety in the control group after the intervention was significantly increased (P<0.001), but experimental group showed a significant decrease in state and trait anxiety after intervention (P<0.001). Teaching Progressive Muscle Relaxation techniques to pregnant women can have a significant impact on reducing pregnancy anxiety.