Experiences of Pregnant Women Participating in Antenatal Yoga: A Qualitative Study.

Context: Pregnancy yoga is a modified version of yoga for pregnant women, and it aims to reduce pregnancy-related symptoms, such as insomnia, low back pain, tiredness, constipation, leg cramps, and shortness of breath. Objective: The study aimed to identify the experiences and expectations of pregnant women related to the practice of yoga. Method: The research team conducted a qualitative study. Setting: The study took place at the antenatal clinic of a public hospital in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Participants: The participants were 24 pregnant women at the clinic. Intervention: The study included an intervention group that performed yoga and received routine antenatal care; however, no control groups were used. Each yoga intervention was held for approximately 40-45 minutes, with yoga asana periods lasting 30 minutes. The pregnant women were expected to participate in yoga practice twice a week on a regular basis for 8 weeks. Outcome Measures: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis was performed. Results: Four major themes emerged: (1) perceptions about pregnancy, (2) management of pregnancy symptoms, (3) prenatal attachment, and (4) birth perceptions. According to participants, the benefits of yoga practice were management of pregnancy symptoms, increased prenatal attachment, a positive perception of the birth, natural-birth beliefs, and management of fear and pain during birth. Conclusions: The participants reported barriers to performing yoga; however, they also said that they would try pregnancy yoga if they were encouraged by healthcare professionals. Also, the participants stated that pregnancy yoga practice should be made a part of antenatal education to facilitate participation.

Effects of Valsalva Maneuver, EMLA Cream, and Stress Ball for Pregnant Women's Venipuncture Pain.

CONTEXT: Peripheral intravenous catheter (PIVC) practice is a common invasive procedure used in the diagnosis and treatment of pregnant women admitted to the hospital. Difficulties experienced during PIVC application are among the most common problems encountered in a medical facility. OBJECTIVE: The study intended to evaluate the effects of the Valsalva maneuver, the application of eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) cream, and use of a stress ball in controlling the pain and discomfort that developed due to PIVC administration for pregnant women. DESIGN: The research team designed the study as a randomized, controlled, single-blind trial. SETTING: The research took place at the obstetrics clinic at the Practice and Research Hospital at Yozgat Bozok University in Yozgat, Turkey, between January 2019 and February 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 120 pregnant women who visited the obstetrics clinic and were admitted to the maternity ward of the hospital during that time. INTERVENTION: Participants were divided into four groups of 30 women each: (1) the Valsalva maneuver group, (2) the EMLA group, receiving an application of the cream, and (3) the stress-ball group, and (4) the control group. OUTCOME MEASURES: Data were collected through the use of a pregnancy information form and a visual analog scale. In the assessment of the data, variance analysis was used with the Kruskal Wallis and Dunn test. RESULTS: Only the pain scores of the Valsalva maneuver group were found to be significantly lower than those of the control group, whereas the pain scores of the EMLA and stress-ball groups were similar to those of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The current study can generate awareness in pregnant women in terms of choosing between pharmacological and nonpharmacological practices that nurses use during PIVC insertion. As the only randomized controlled blind study that has been performed on the topic, the current study offers nurses evidence of a way to reduce PIVC pain in pregnant women.

Spiritual and Religious Issues of Stigmatization Women with Infertility: A Qualitative Study : Spiritual and Religious Issues of Stigmatization.

The purpose of this study is to determine the perceptions of women with infertility on stigma and religious and spiritual issues of stigmatization. The phenomenological method was used for the study consisting of a research sample of 12 women with infertility who were selected through the criterion sampling method. This study found that women related their experience of infertility to stress and the will of God. They were extremely sad and unhappy and went through an exhausting and fearful process. They faced social isolation, spiritual problems when their friends and relatives told other people their story of infertility.