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

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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.

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Abbreviations

WHOQOL:

World Health Organization Quality of Life

FIRO:

Fundamental Interpersonal Relationships Orientation

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge with deep gratitude the efforts made by the staff members of Maiya Hospital and SVYASA University who facilitated this study. We particularly appreciate Dr. Ravi Kulkarni’s guidance during the data analysis and Mrs. Sushama Kirtikar’s assistance in proof reading the article. This project was institutionally funded by the SVYASA University of yogic sciences based in Bangalore, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SVYASA University, Bangalore, India

    Abbas Rakhshani, Satyapriya Maharana, Nagarathna Raghuram, Hongasandra R. Nagendra & Padmalatha Venkatram

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  1. Abbas Rakhshani
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  2. Satyapriya Maharana
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  3. Nagarathna Raghuram
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  4. Hongasandra R. Nagendra
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Correspondence to Abbas Rakhshani.

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Rakhshani, A., Maharana, S., Raghuram, N. et al. Effects of integrated yoga on quality of life and interpersonal relationship of pregnant women. Qual Life Res 19, 1447–1455 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-010-9709-2

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