Yoga may help improve pregnancy outcome

	Tweet

The practice of yoga during pregnancy seems to improve birth weight and reduce prematurity and overall complications, Indian researchers report.

Dr. Shamanthakamani Narendran, from the Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation in Bangalore, and colleagues studied 169 pregnant women trained in the integrated approach to yoga and in 166 “controls” who received routine prenatal care.

The yoga training included various loosening exercises, postures ("asanas"), relaxation, deep breathing exercises ("pranayamas"), and meditation, which was practiced for 1 hour daily.

Fourteen percent of deliveries were premature in the yoga group compared with 29 percent in the controls. Rates of pregnancy-related High Blood Pressure were also lower in the yoga group, the researchers report in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine.

“The exact role of yoga is unclear at present,” said co-author Dr. Vivek Narendran of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Ohio.

He said possible mechanisms whereby yoga improves pregnancy outcomes include increased blood flow to the placenta, decreased transfer of maternal stress hormones, and decreased premature release of hormones that trigger the onset of labor.

“Given the larger picture of multiple failed attempts to reduce low birth weight and prematurity globally in the last decade,” Dr. Narendran commented, “we provide preliminary data for the first time, to support a simple potential intervention, particularly in India, to improve pregnancy outcomes.”

SOURCE: Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine, April 2005. 

RELATED STORIES:
Does acupuncture boost IVF success   Acupuncture aids pain relief for knee arthritis   The secret of getting to sleep? Music   Yoga has small benefit for chronic back pain: study   Acupuncture changes brain’s perception and processing of pain   Music therapy relieves fibromyalgia symptoms and improves patients’ quality of life   Children with cancer often use alternative medicine   Many Clinicians Unaware of Federally Funded Research on Alternative Therapies   Acupuncture now in a pill   Migraines, Tension Headaches Respond to Acupuncture   Most Americans use alternative medicine - report   Acupuncture eases tamoxifen-related hot flashes

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]