title: The effects of progressive muscular relaxation and breathing control technique on blood pressure during pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are the main cause of maternal and fetal mortality; however, they have no definite effective treatment. The researchers aimed to study the effects of progressive muscular relaxation and breathing control technique on blood pressure (BP) during pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  This three-group clinical trial was conducted in Mashhad health centers and governmental hospitals. Sixty pregnant (after 20 weeks of gestational age) women with systolic BP ≥ 135 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 85 mmHg were assigned to three groups. Progressive muscular relaxation and breathing control exercises were administered to the two experimental groups once a week in person and in the rest of the days by instructions given on a CD for 4 weeks. BP was checked before and after the interventions. BP was measured before and after 15 min subjects' waiting without any especial intervention in the control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 4 weeks of intervention, the systolic (by a mean of 131.3 to 117.2, P = 0.001 and by a mean of 131.05 to 120.5, P = 0.004, respectively) and diastolic (by a mean of 79.2 to 72.3, P = 0.001 and by a mean of 80.1 to 76.5, P = 0.047, respectively) BPs were significantly decreased in progressive muscular relaxation and breathing control groups, but they were not statistically significant in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The interventions were effective on decreasing systolic and diastolic BP to normal range after 4 weeks in both the groups. The effects of both the interventions were more obvious on systolic BP compared to diastolic BP.
authors.affiliation: Islamic Azad University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahboobeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aalami
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Farzaneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jafarnejad
authors.affiliation: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Morteza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: ModarresGharavi
keywords: Blood pressure; breathing exercises; hypertensive disorders; muscle relaxation; pregnancy complications; pregnancy-induced hypertension