Fitness Queen

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Aerobic Exercise in the water regularly during pregnancy to help women give birth without using drugs to relieve pain, suggests a new study in Brazil.

Less than a third of women who had three sessions of 50 minutes of “water aerobics” per week in pregnancy required analgesics during labor, as opposed to almost two thirds of mothers of a control group that did no exercise during gestation.

These are the results obtained by the team of Dr. Rosa I. Pereira, University of Campinas, in Sao Paulo.

“Babies were born with weight, gestational age and vitality appropriate, confirming the trend in the literature to indicate that regular moderate physical activity has no effect on prematurity and the weight of the newborn,” the authors wrote.

There is consensus that exercise is safe for women with uncomplicated pregnancies, the team noted. Make physical activity in water is especially beneficial because it reduces the weight of the body, reduces swelling and prevents the heat, the researchers added.

In order to analyze the impact water aerobics during pregnancy, labor and birth, the team organized at random two groups of pregnant women: 34 were aquatic exercise and 37 did not exercise (control group).

The experts tested the fitness of women at three stages of pregnancy.

Cardiovascular capacity and fetal heartbeat were similar in both groups during pregnancy. There were no differences between groups for the duration of labor or the likelihood of having a cesarean.

Birth weight, gestational age and vitality of infants were similar in both groups.

27.3 percent of women who made “water aerobics” requested analgesics during labor, compared to 64.9 percent in the control group.

The difference remained significant even after considering the number of previous births and the educational level of each expectant mother, two factors that may influence the likelihood that a woman ask for pain relief in labor.

Women who exercised during pregnancy were able to tolerate the pain of labor because it would have been better “psychophysical” suggested the team.

Although the results are strong evidence that moderate exercise is safe in pregnancy, the authors noted that “we must confirm whether exercise is suitable for pregnancy and that the practice of rigorous physical activity intensity, frequency or duration is associated with a low birth weight.”