The Effect of Relaxation on Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure Changes of Women with Gestational Diabetes: a Randomized Control Trial

Objective: Gestational diabetes influences mother’s health and is accompanied by severe complications. Relaxation is a complementary method for managing this disease. Hence, the current study aimed to evaluate the effect of relaxation on blood sugar and blood pressure changes of women with gestational diabetes. Materials and Methods: In present randomized control trial, 58 patients with gestational diabetes who had referred to Hafez hospital, Shiraz, were selected through simple random sampling. Then, they were randomly divided into control and intervention groups. The intervention group received a regular 3-week educational intervention in the form of five 45-minute sessions, including Benson's relaxation training. Both theoretically and practically along with discussion as well as question and answer. Fasting blood sugar, 2-hour postprandial blood sugar, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured in both groups before, immediately after and one month after the intervention. Then, the data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software (v. 16) and using Chi-square and independent t-test. Results: According to the results, the mean of fasting blood sugar was 94.79 and 103 mg/dl in the intervention and control groups, respectively (P<0.001). Besides, the mean of 2-hour postprandial blood sugar was 107 mg/dl in the intervention group and 118 mg/dl in the control group (P<0.001). In addition, the mean of systolic blood pressure was 120 and 127 mg/dl in the intervention and control groups, respectively (P=0.006). Conclusion: The findings of the current study confirmed the effectiveness of relaxation training in fasting blood sugar, 2-hour postprandial blood sugar and systolic blood pressure.