Effects of integrated yoga on quality of life and interpersonal relationship of pregnant women

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of integrated yoga on the quality of life and interpersonal relationships in normal pregnant women. Methods: One hundred and two pregnant women between 18 and 20 weeks of gestation who met the inclusion criteria were recruited from the obstetric units in Bangalore and were randomly assigned to two groups of yoga (n = 51) and control (n = 51). Women with medical conditions that could potentially lead to pregnancy complications and those with abnormal fetal parameters were excluded. The yoga group received integrated yoga while control group received standard antenatal exercises, both for 1-h three times a week from 20th to 36th week of gestation. Pre and post assessments were done using WHOQOL-100 and FIRO-B questionnaires. Results: Of the six domains of WHOQOL-100, between groups analysis showed significant improvements in the yoga group compared to the control in the physical (P = 0.001), psychological (P < 0.001), social (P = 0.003), and environmental domains (P = 0.001). In FIRO-B, the yoga group showed significant improvements in 'Expressed Inclusion' (P = 0.02) and 'Wanted Control' (P = 0.009) domains compared to the control group. Conclusion: The integrated yoga is an efficacious means of improving the quality of life of pregnant women and enhancing certain aspects of their interpersonal relationships. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.