Expectant mothers are naturally anxious about their labor. They especially worry about the pain they have to endure and what they will need to handle the pain. While pain cannot be avoided during labor, the treatment or pain killer support will depend on each person’s pain bearing capacity. Water aerobics is found to be one of the effective ways to keep pregnant women in shape and minimize their pain during labor.
According to a report by University of Campinas MD Rosa Pereira, women who have regularly taken part in exercise programs which are water-based of moderate intensity are less likely to ask for pain killers during labor even though there was no significant difference in other aspects like cardiovascular capacity, type of delivery, duration of delivery and neonatal outcomes.
According to Dr. Pereira, practicing water aerobics in moderation will not affect health of the mother or child in any way. The fact that these women ask for lesser analgesic shows they are in a better condition both psychologically and physically. She went on to say that this exercise can be recommended to expectant mothers who are willing.
There is always a safety concern regarding any physical activity during pregnancy. Researchers however point out that water based exercises are safer as they do not increase the skin temperature; they reduce edema and also do not cause an overload on the musculoskeletal system.
Research was conducted on 34 mothers to be in the average age group of 25 by Dr. Pereira and her team.
