The effect of complementary medicine on maternal health promotion: An experimental study

During the immediate post delivery period, women are particularly susceptible to distension of the bladder. Complementary and alternative medicine is becoming an established intervention modality within the contemporary health care system. However, very little is known about the impact of foot reflexology on the urinary system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the most popular type of complementary therapy (the foot reflexology) on first voiding time following elective cesarean section without urinary catheter.

This experimental study was performed on 61 pregnant women in Pastor Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, who met the inclusion criteria. Accordingly, participants were randomly allotted to either treatment or control groups. The intervention group received a single 20‑min foot reflexology session at 2–3 h after the surgery. The time taken for first void was recorded by research assistant that blinded to the allocation of groups. The findings were recorded and analyzed with the SPSS software by using of Chi‑square, independent t‑test, Mann–Whitney, and Fisher exact methods P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Using General Linear Model (GLM) for controlling of confounding variables, the results of t‑test showed significant differences between two groups in terms of first voiding time (P = 0.001) following surgery.

It seems that the use of foot reflexology as a nursing care plan to prevent urinary retention after cesarean section without urinary catheter does shorten first voiding time and increase maternal satisfaction.