Prenatal yoga keeps your mother and child safe

Long-term office life has given many pregnant women a lot of fear about childbirth. What should I do if I have premature delivery and dystocia? What about pregnancy syndrome? What should I do if my child is not born healthy enough? Yoga instructors tell us that moderate yoga before childbirth can help pregnant women get rid of these troubles and keep pregnant women's mother and child safe.

Indian researchers say prenatal yoga can improve newborn weight, reduce the chance of premature birth, and reduce overall complications.

Dr. Shamanthakamani Narendran of the Vivekananda Yoga Research Base and colleagues conducted a prospective study evaluating 169 pregnant women who practiced yoga and 166 pregnant women who underwent routine prenatal examinations. Yoga training includes different relaxation exercises, body position, relaxation, deep breathing training, and meditation, for 1 hour a day.

The results of the study showed that the preterm labor rate in the yoga group was halved compared with the control group. The incidence of intrauterine development retardation was also one-third lower than that in the control group. The incidence of pregnancy-induced hypertension has also been significantly reduced.

"The physiological conditions generated by yoga treatment can indeed relieve stress reactions," the researchers explained.

Dr. Vivek Narendran of Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, pointed out that the exact role of yoga is currently unclear. Possible mechanisms include increasing placental blood flow, reducing the delivery of maternal stress hormones, and reducing the premature release of placenta-released hormones, which trigger production.

Dr. Narendran said that in the past decade, many attempts to reduce the proportion of low birth weight and premature infants have failed, and for the first time, we have proposed a simple and effective intervention, especially in India, to improve birth outcomes.

The coach reminded us: Prenatal yoga is good, but remember that you must study in a professional yoga studio. Practicing yourself may have counter-effects! (Internship Editor: Wu Jinyu)