Effect of Benson’s Relaxation Therapy on Post Caesarean Section Pain and Stress: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Many mothers face some discomfort after caesarean section like pain, mood changes, postpartum depression and stress. Nonpharmacological methods can be utilised to relive these discomforts as they are simple to use, inexpensive and does not have any side effects. Benson’s Relaxation Therapy (BRT) is a form of breathing exercise to be done by postcaesarean section mothers, breathing in and out in sitting position with closed eyes. Saying to oneself the word “one” while breathing out. Aim: To evaluate the effect of BRT on level of pain and stress among postcaesarean section mothers. Materials and Methods: Quantitative research approach with quasi experimental: pre-test post-test control group design was used. By using convenient sampling technique, total 10 samples {experimental group(5) and control group(5)} were recruited. The intervention was given to the experimental group twice a day for 3 consecutive days. BRT was not administered in control group. Post-interventional pain and stress was assessed on 3rd day by using numerical pain rating scale for pain assessment and Modified Hung’s postpartum stress scale for stress assessment. Data were collected by using SPSS version 20. The t-test was used to analyse the data. The p-value less than 0.05 were considered as significant. Results: The study showed that BRT was effective in reducing pain level in experimental as well as in reducing stress level. The mean pain score for experimental group reduced from 7 to 2.2 while in control group it was 7.60 at pre-intervention and 4.6 at follow-up. The mean stress score for the experimental group reduced from 90.60 to 57.60 while in control group it was 92.00 at pre-intervention and 75.20 at follow-up. Conclusion: This study concluded the positive effect of BRT in reducing pain and stress level among postcaesarean section mothers.