Yoga for High‑Risk Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Author(s):

Deshpande CS, Rakshani A, Nagarathna R, Ganpat TS, Kurpad A, Maskar R, Nagendra HR, Sudheer DC, Abbas R, Raghuram N, Anura K, Rita M, Ramarao NH

Background: Improvements in technology have increased the chances of survival for the microâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?premature infant and the very low birthâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?weight infant but have significantly increased the financial burden of health care organizations. This economic burden has a significant impact on thirdâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?party payers and on society in general. Aim: The study was designed to assess yoga therapy (YT) module on maternal stress level in high risk pregnancy. Subjects and Methods: In the present study, sixtyâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?eight pregnant women (38 in the control group with standard antenatal care and 30 in the YT group) with 27.2 (5.2) years of mean age recruited from the outpatient services of medical college and hospital in Bangalore, South India, were participated. The study was a singleâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?blind randomized controlled clinical trial. Perceived stress scale (PSS) was measured during the 12th, 20th, and 28th weeks of pregnancy. SPSS version 16.0 (Chicago, IL, USA) was used for all data analysis. When the data were found to be normally distributed,the RMANOVA were used to assess the PSS scores between the yoga and control groups. Significant values were set at P < 0.05. Results: There was a significant difference in the PSS level of the YT group with significantly reduced scores at the second followâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?up (28th week of pregnancy) compared to the control group (P = 0.02). Women who took part in the YT module reported significantly fewer pregnancy discomforts decrease in PSS (P = 0.02) than the control group where the stress level was increased (RMANOVA test using SPSSâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?16). Conclusion: The present study suggests that the YT module can decrease the stress level during highâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?risk pregnancy complications. Thus, practicing YT during highâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?risk pregnancy is not only a costâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?effective option but also a feasible and safe option. Additional wellâÃ?Â?Ã?Â?designed studies are needed before a strong recommendation can be made.