The Effect of Mitchell's Physiological Relaxation on pain intensity and stress level among post cesarean women

Background: Cesarean section is associated with moderate-to-severe postoperative discomfort. Which may hinder mother-child bonding, affect the mother's psychological health and make breastfeeding more difficult. In addition to stress which can delay recovery and return to normal activities. Mitchell's physiological relaxation technique is a very effective, non-invasive, safe, affordable, and straightforward method of reducing pain following cesarean section and lower stress level with no adverse effects. Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine how Mitchell's Physiological Relaxation affected post cesarean women's pain severity and stress level. Materials and Methods: A Randomized controlled clinical trial research design was employed in the study. Setting: the research was conducted at post-partum unit of Damanhour National Medical institute allied to ministry of health; Elbehira governorate. Subjects: A purposive sample of 80 women undergoing cesarean section was recruited from the aforementioned setting. Tools: To gather data, three tools were employed. The first tool was a structured interview schedule with sociodemographic characteristics, reproductive history, current pregnancy profile and analgesia. The second tool included the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire which consisted of two parts. Part I: The Pain Scale index, Part II was visual pain scale. The third tool was Daily Stress Response Scale. Results: The short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire revealed a statistically significant difference in pain intensity between the two groups after second and third session of intervention where (p= 0.017, 0.001) which proved the effect of the intended intervention in reduction the degree of pain. Regarding the level of stress, a statistically significant difference was found between both study and control groups after second and third session in favor of the study group (p= 0.023, 0.009 respectively). Conclusion: After cesarean delivery, women who practiced Mitchell's Physiological Relaxation Technique experienced less pain intensity and lower level of stress than those who do not practice it. Recommendations: In-service training program about Mitchell's Physiological Relaxation Technique is recommended for postpartum nurses to decrease pain intensity and lower stress level in order to improve recovery process.