Effects of Counselling and Sole Reflexology on Fatigue in Pregnant Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

INTRODUCTION: Increase of fatigue may lead to problems during pregnancy, delivery and post delivery. Sole reflexology is the application of pressure to areas on the feet. Reflexology is generally relaxing and may be an effective way to alleviate fatigue and stress.

AIM: To investigate the effect of counselling and sole reflexology on fatigue in pregnant women, referred to the medical centers of Hamadan city, Iran.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a randomized clinical trial with three groups - Group A (counselling and reflexology), Group B (reflexology) and Group C (control) with pre and post intervention. A total of forty two pregnant women were selected for each group. Measurement tool was a 30 question standard checklist for fatigue assessment. For all three groups, an explanatory session was held to get their written consents and conduct a pretest. The intervention included five education sessions, twice a week about reflexology in the form of counselling and sole reflexology. The groups were assessed immediately after intervention. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics, t test and ANOVA with repeated measures were used.

RESULTS: In group A and group B, the mean score of fatigue severity after the intervention demonstrated a significant decrease (p<0.05); furthermore, after intervention, a significant difference was observed between the control and experimental groups in terms of fatigue severity (p<0.01).

CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, counselling and sole reflexology significantly decreased fatigue in pregnant women. It is hoped that the results of this study can be used by all treatment groups and midwives for controlling and providing midwifery cares for pregnant women.