Background: Pregnancy is the most pleasant and delicate time in a woman's life. This study
aimed to evaluate the effect of Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercise on the first trimester nausea
among primigravida women. Methods: a quasi-experimental design was utilized in this study. The
current study was conducted at the Antenatal Outpatient Clinic of Mansoura University Hospitals,
Egypt. A non-probability purposive sample of 132 primigravida women in their first trimester was
assigned to either the control group, which received regular antenatal care or the PMR group which
conducted Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercise. A structured interview questionnaire schedule,
Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Likert Scale were utilized for data collection. Results: At the
baseline assessment there was no statistical significant difference in VAS nausea scores between
subjects in the control and PMR groups, a high statistical significant differences were found among
the subjects from both groups at the 7th day after PMR exercising, in which, about 47% of the
subjects in the control group had severe nausea compared to 0% subjects in PMR group (P <0.001),
the frequency of nausea at the 7th day was decreased to be less than twice per day in about 54.5% of
subjects in PMR group compared to 12.1% in control group (P <0.001), the majority of subjects
were highly satisfied with PMR exercise as a convenient method to relieve nausea related to
pregnancy. Conclusion: There was a statistical significant decrease in nausea severity and
frequency in the PMR group compared to the control group with higher satisfaction with PMR
exercise as convenient and simple method for reliving of nausea among primigravida women.
Recommendations: The current study recommended that, progressive muscle relaxation exercise
should be integrated into nursing care practices that relief nausea among pregnant women