The effects of internet-based mother-baby yoga on preterm infants and their mothers

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of internet-based mother-infant yoga on preterm infants and their mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twentynine infants, whose gestational age was between 32-37 weeks and completed the corrected age of the 6th week, and their mothers have included in the study and were divided into two groups; 15 in the yoga group and 14 in the control group. While the infants' motor performance was evaluated by Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS); the mothers were assessed by Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Brockington Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PPBQ), Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF). The yoga group was given internet-based mother-baby yoga training for six weeks, once a week. After six weeks, statistically significant differences were found between the groups' AIMS total score, state anxiety (STAI-S), PPBQ, psychological and environmental sub-domains of WHOQOL-BREF, and neck region score of NMQ (p<0.05). No difference was found between the groups' trait anxiety (STAI-T), physical and social sub-domains of WHOQOL-BREF, and sub-scores of NMQ excluding the neck region (p>0.05). In intragroup analyzes, while AIMS total scores increased statistically significantly in both groups (p<0.001); AIMS percentile value, STAI-T, PPBQ, and all sub-domains of WHOQOL-BREF showed improvements only in the yoga group (p<0.05). As a result of the study, it was thought that internet-based mother-baby yoga, could be applied to support the motor development of preterm infants and maternal-infant health as a complementary method, especially during the pandemic