The Effect of Prenatal Yoga on Anxiety, Discomfort, and Labor Experience in Third-Trimester Pregnant Women: A Mixed-Methods Sequential Explanatory Study
Abstract
A woman will experience physical and psychological changes during her pregnancy. Physical changes can cause discomfort, and psychological changes can cause anxiety. This study examined changes in anxiety and discomfort following prenatal yoga and explored childbirth experiences among third-trimester pregnant women. The study employed a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design. Quantitative data were collected through purposive sampling of 25 respondents who participated in four weekly 60-minute prenatal yoga sessions. Six participants were purposively selected from the quantitative sample for in-depth interviews. Data collection employed an anxiety questionnaire, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and a discomfort questionnaire, followed by in-depth interviews with selected informants. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The average anxiety before prenatal yoga was 12.8, and after prenatal yoga it was 3.64, with P = 0.001. The average discomfort before prenatal yoga was 3.76, and after prenatal yoga it was 0.92, with a P-value of 0.001. Participants generally reported reduced anxiety and discomfort after participating in prenatal yoga. Some participants described vaginal deliveries lasting 2 to 7 hours; participants who underwent cesarean section (CS) described feeling better prepared and reported easier recovery. Anxiety and pregnancy-related discomfort scores decreased after prenatal yoga, and interviewed participants described positive childbirth experiences. These findings should be interpreted in light of the one-group design.
Keywords: Prenatal Yoga, Anxiety, Discomfort, Labor Experience
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30829/contagion.v8i3.29520
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