Abstract:
Yoga is a spiritual and ascetic discipline, a component of which is commonly practiced for
health and relaxation, and includes breath control, basic meditation, and the adoption
of precise body postures. Excessive stress, anxiety and depression during pregnancy
may cause mental disorders in pregnant women and may inhibit fetus growth and also
pregnant mothers suffer from fear of childbirth. This study included 180 pregnant women
registered at the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) office at Dehiowita from which thirty
(n=30) pregnant mothers aged 19–35 years, in the third trimester of pregnancy from
week 27 to the end of the pregnancy, were selected for this study under the purposive
sampling method. Under the guidance of yoga experts, the researcher provided eight
weeks of yoga instructions and yoga practices to the experimental group, three days
a week, each session for a duration of 50 min. A post-test was conducted after eight
weeks of the yoga training program. Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale DASS-21
was used to collect the data. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon’s test. The results
showed that there was a significant difference (p=0.000) in stress levels, anxiety levels
and depression levels before and after intervention in the selected sample. The mean
values of stress, anxiety and depression were recorded as 23.73 and 14.93, 14.86 and 7.93
and 14.96 and 7.44, before and after treatment respectively. It can be concluded that a
reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression levels among pregnant women in their third
trimester can be achieved as a result of yoga activities since the pre-test and post- test
results of this study show a significant difference.
