The effect of Relaxation Training Using Short Message Service on pregnant women's anxiety

Introduction: Pregnancy is associated with many physical and psychological changes that cause anxiety in the mother. Therefore, this study was investigated to determine the effect of sending short messages on pregnant women's anxiety. Method: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 120 pregnant women covered by community health centers in Gonabad city in 2018. Mothers were selected by convenience sampling and were randomly assigned to two intervention and control groups (60 subjects each group). The Spielberger anxiety inventory questionnaire completed before and after and one month later the intervention by the mothers in an autoregressive manner. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 using paired t-test, independent t-test and Chi-square tests at a significance level less than 0.05. Results: Before intervention, there was no significant difference between the mean of anxiety scores in the two groups, but after the intervention, the apparent and hidden anxiety of the mothers was significantly different in the two groups )P <0.05(. Conclusion: Sending SMS to provide care during pregnancy as an effective measure can reduce the anxiety score of pregnant women. Therefore, the intervention is recommended along with the usual care during pregnancy.