Published Paper Details:

ABSTRACT "Act like you expect to get into the end zone" Philippians 4:13 A quasi- experimental study to assess the effectiveness of leg massage in reducing discomfort due to physiological lower leg edema among antenatal mothers attending ANC OPD in selected hospital Durg District C.G." Background of the study: Pregnancy is presumed to be a major contributory factor in the increased incidence of varicose veins in women, which in turn lead to venous insufficiency and leg edema. Edema occurs when body fluids increase to nurture both mother and her baby and accumulate in the tissues as a result of increased blood flow and pressure of the growing uterus on the pelvic veins and the vena cava. In recent years, there has been an increased acceptance of the use of complementary therapies within the healthcare system. Objective: o To assess the effectiveness of leg massage in reducing discomfort due to physiological lower leg edema among antenatal mothers attending ANC OPD in selected hospital Durg District. o To find out the association between the level of discomfort due to physiological lower leg edema in antenatal mothers attending ANC OPD with selected socio demographic variable. Methods: The research design adopted was Pre experimental one group pretest post-test design. The sample size was 60 antenatal mothers with physiological lower leg edema in Durg District Hospitals. Non probability purposive sampling technique was used in this study. Those who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected for this study. The risk factors of physiological lower leg edema were assessed by questionnaire. Pretest was done using self-structured discomfort measuring tools. Intervention of leg massage was given for 10 minutes in each leg and post-test assessment was done after 1 week of intervention. Result of the study: The post-test day1 mean value (8.65), post-test day 2 mean value (6.15) and post-test day3 mean value (4.60) were lower than the pre-test means value (10.7) and post-test day 3 and day2 values were lower than post-test day1 mean value. The obtained paired' test values (19.69) are higher than the tabulated value (1.68) (P<0.05) was highly significant. Post test day1 revealed that among 40 antenatal mothers, 2 mothers (5%) had mild edema, 36mothers (90%) had moderate edema, 2mothers (5%) had severe edema. Post test day2 revealed that 27mothers (67.5%) had mild edema, 13mothers (32.5%) had moderate edema. Post test day3 revealed that 4mothers (10%) had no edema and 36mothers (90%) had mild edema. There was no significant association between the degree of physiological lower leg edema and selected demographic variables like age, education, occupation, area of living, type of family, height, BMI, obstetrical score, gestational weeks except weight. Biophysical and biochemical parameters and the risk factors of physiological lower leg edema except intake of water. Conclusion: Physiological lower leg edema is a very common problem among antenatal mothers and they are some risk factors associated with it. Leg massage is an effective and inexpensive measure to reduce the degree of physiological lower leg edema among antenatal mothers. The study concluding that leg massage is significant in reducing the risk factors of physiological lower leg edema during pregnancy among antenatal mothers.