The Effect of Foot Reflexology on Sleep Quality among High Risk Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Masoumeh Nasiri, Fatemeh Ranjkesh, Maryam Mafi, Mojtaba Senmar, Seyedeh Zahra Hosseinigolafshani
Sleep and Hypnosis: A Journal of Clinical Neuroscience and Psychopathology 2019;21(4):293-301
During pregnancy, women experience changes insleep patterns and poor sleep quality is a common complaint as pregnancyprogresses. The aim of this study was toinvestigate the effect of foot reflexology on sleep quality in high riskpregnant women. Inthis randomized controlled trial, 72women with high risk pregnancy were recruited and were assigned to reflexology and control group (n=36 ineach group). Theintervention group received 30 Minute foot reflexology twice a week, for four weeks. The control group receivedroutine prenatal care. Before and after the intervention, the Sleep ConditionIndicator Scale was used to assess sleep quality. After implementation ofintervention independent t-test showed significant differences between theintervention and the control group in quality of sleep. The results of pairedt-test revealed Significant improvement of sleep quality in the interventiongroup (p<0.05). In the control group, sleep quality significantly decreased(p <0.05).The results of present study may suggest that foot reflexology asa noninvasive and non-pharmacological nursing intervention can improve sleepquality in high risk pregnant women.
Keywords:
Foot Reflexology, Complementary Medicine, Quality of Sleep, High Risk Pregnancy.