Objectives: To examine the effects and the quantity of a Yoga Programme practice on maternal comfort during pregnancy.
Material and Methods: A randomised controlled trial (RCT) was conducted using the 74 primigravid women who were divided equally into a treatment (n = 37) and a control group (n = 37). The Yoga Programme comprised a series of six, onehour practice sessions at the 26-28th, 30th, 32nd, 34th, 36th, and 37th weeks of gestational age. A Maternal Comfort Questionnaire (MCQ) and Visual Analogue Scale (VASTC) were used to collect the data for maternal comfort. A Yoga Practice Record Form was used for recording the frequency and duration of yoga practice.
Results: Repeated measurement analysis of variances (ANOVA) (split-plot design) revealed a significant difference in maternal comfort over time; calculated using MCQ, F(2, 144) = 60.75, p < 0.001 and by VASTC, F(5, 360) = 28.73, p < 0.001. Both groups showed an actual decrease in comfort but the comfort scores of the yoga group were consistently higher than that of the control group. However, there was no significant relationship between maternal comfort and the frequency and duration of the yoga practice, F(2, 36) = 1.902, p = 0.165.
Conclusion: A yoga programme of 30 minutes practice at least three times a week over 10 weeks of yoga practice is an effective complementary means for inducing maternal comfort. It could be used in clinical practice in order to improve the quality of care during pregnancy.