The effect of foot reflexology on postpartum fatigue in primiparous women

Many changes occur in postpartum period in the body and soul of mothers that may lead to mothers' feeling fatigue. The use of reflexology has been well established as a branch of complementary medicine in the promotion of health care, especially in the field of maternal and neonatal health. Therefore, this study was performed with aim to investigate the effect of foot reflexology on postpartum fatigue in primiparous women.

This clinical trial study was performed on 70 primiparous women referred to the healthcare centers in the south of Tehran in 2018. The subjects were divided into two groups of control and reflexology. The mothers of the control group received postpartum routine care and the reflexology group received massage for 3 consecutive days for 30 minutes (15 minutes per leg). Both groups completed the fatigue assessment-visual questionnaire before and after the intervention (immediately and one week after completion). Data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software (version 21) and parametric inferential statistical tests such as analysis of variance with repeated measures and non-parametric measures (Chi-square). Also, independent t-test was used to determine the significant difference between the mean of some social demographic characteristics with the treatment outcome. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Demographic characteristics and severity of fatigue before the intervention were the same in both reflexology and control groups. Immediately after the intervention (p <0.001) and one week after the intervention, the severity of fatigue between the two groups of reflexology and control showed a statistically significant difference (p <0.001).

Supportive and rehabilitation measures such as foot reflexology can be effective in reducing fatigue of primiparous mothers after normal delivery.