The Effects of Benson’s Relaxation Response on Fatigue During Pregnancy: A Two-Group Randomized Controlled Field Trial

Abstract

Background and Aim: Pregnancy is associated with different problems and changes in the body. Fatigue is one of the pregnancy-related problems. It negatively effects quality of life and fetal growth and development. This study aimed at investigating the effects of Benson’s relaxation response on fatigue during pregnancy. Methods: This two-group randomized controlled field trial was done on 54 pregnant females, who referred to the only urban healthcare center in Nehbandan, Iran, during year 2015. Females were purposively recruited and randomly allocated to control and intervention groups. Benson’s relaxation response was taught to the participants individually in the intervention group in 3 sessions and then, they were asked to perform relaxation exercises for 15 to 20 minutes twice daily for one month. Females in the control group received no relaxation training. Fatigue assessment was performed for both groups before and immediately after the intervention. The SPSS software (v. 21.0) was used for data analysis employing the paired-sample t, the independent-sample t, and the Chi-square tests as well as the one-way analysis of variance. The level of significance in all statistical tests was set at below 0.05. Results: During the study, fatigue significantly increased in the control group (P = 0.013) and significantly decreased in the intervention group (P = 0.035). Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the groups regarding the mean score of fatigue (P = 0.46), while after the intervention, the mean score of fatigue in the intervention group was significantly lower than the control group (P = 0.001). Conclusions: Benson’s relaxation response is effective in reducing fatigue in the first trimester of pregnancy.