Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensory-motor disorder affecting up to one in three pregnant women, which peaks during the third trimester and is linked to poor pregnancy outcomes. Symptoms typically worsen during a period of inactivity, especially at night, resulting in sleep disruption or deprivation. This study aimed to compare the effects of stretching exercises versus thermotherapy on RLS symptoms and sleep quality among pregnant women. Study design: A quasi-experimental study was carried out at the antenatal outpatient clinic of Maternity University Hospital. A sample of 60 pregnant women was randomly assigned to two groups. One group was instructed to perform leg stretching exercises daily for one week, and the other group applied thermotherapy. They rated their RLS symptoms, pain level, and sleep quality at baseline and after receiving interventions. Results: the severity of RLS symptoms declined to a mild level among pregnant women immediately and after one week of performing stretching exercises (53.3%, 93.3%), compared to 6.7% and 63.3% of those who applied thermotherapy (p=0.001, p= 0.02).
Background: Pregnancy is such a profound experience that has physiological and hormonal changes that prepare the mothers body to adjust and accommodate the growing fetus. These changes result into minor discomforts. Despite the fact that they are not life threating, they can be bothersome. Women use a number of self-care practices to alleviate these discomforts. Objective: To identify pregnant women's self-care practices for relieve of minor discomforts in Dodoma Region, Tanzania.
Settings:The study was conducted in antenatal outpatient clinics of the 7 available health facilities that represent Dodoma Region. Subjects: A convenient sample of 380 pregnant women attending the selected settings according to the inclusion criteria. Tools: Three tools were used for data collection. The first tool was Women socio-demographic characteristics structured Interview schedule. The second tool was Knowledge of pregnant women regarding minor discomfort and its management structured interview schedule. The third tool was Women's self-care practices for relieve of minor discomfort of pregnancy structured interview schedule. Results: Findings of the present study revealed that the mean age of the mother was 27.98 ± 7.66. More than one half (55.3%) of the study subjects had poor knowledge. Approximately two third (65.5%) of pregnant women had unsatisfactory self-care practices for relieve of minor discomforts. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between knowledge and self-care practices regarding minor discomforts. Conclusion: The study concluded that most women had unsatisfactory selfcare practices for relieving minor discomforts. Recommendations: Implement awareness programs linked to minor discomforts and health care practices in primary health care services.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.