A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Benson Relaxation Therapy on Blood Pressure and Stress Among Women with Pregnancy Induced Hypertension in Selected Hospitals, Madurai

Background of the study: PIH is one of the major causes of maternal mortality and can lead to a number of complications when not treated .The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Benson relaxation therapy on blood pressure and stress among women with PIH in selected hospitals, Madurai. Materials and methods: The design adopted was quasi experimental pretest posttest control group design. The sample consisted of 60 mothers, 30 in experimental group and 30 in control group. The convenient sampling technique was used to select the samples. The tools used for data collection procedure was sphygmomanometer and modified Cohen's perceived stress scale. Benson relaxation therapy was administered to those in the experimental group for one week. Result: All the participants both in the experimental group and the control group had systolic BP between 140- 159 mm Hg and diastolic BP between 90- 110 mm Hg BP in pretest. After Benson relaxation therapy in the experimental group almost everyone ie., 96.67% had systolic BP < 140 mm Hg and 83.33% had diastolic BP < 90 mm Hg whereas in the control group only 13.33% had systolic blood pressure of < 140 mmHg and only 3.33% had diastolic BP of < 90 mm Hg. There was a significant reduction in mean posttest systolic BP ( MD=14., t=21.03., p<0.05) and diastolic blood pressure( MD=9., t=12.41 ., p<0.05). The mean post test systolic BP score (130.6) in experimental group was lesser than that of the control group (141.75) (MD=11.5., t=9.52., p<0.05). The mean post test diastolic BP score (84) was lesser than that of the control group (92.1) (MD=8.1., t=8.11 ., p<0.05). In pretest most of the women 80% in the experimental group had moderate level of stress and in the control group 30 % of them had high level of stress. After Benson relaxation therapy it was surprising that 66.67% had low level of stress in the experimental group and 70% had moderate level stress in the control group. There was a significant reduction in mean posttest stress level( MD=9., t=24.65 ., p<0.05) of the experimental group. The mean posttest stress score in the experimental group was 12.9, lesser than that of the control group 21.7 (MD=8.8., t=8.14 ., p<0.05). There was a significant positive relationship between pretest systolic BP and stress in the experimental group (r= 0.69., p < 0.05). Conclusion: The study concluded that Benson relaxation therapy is an effective non- pharmacological intervention in the treatment of BP and stress.