Impact of Prenatal Yoga Practice on Birth Outcome

Yoga is a body-mind practice that encompasses a system of postures (asana), stretching exercises combined with breathing (pranayama) and meditation (dharana). About 70% of practitioners are women, the majority of them in their reproductive age. Yoga is on the rise among pregnant women. Prenatal yoga appears to help pregnant women develop mental and physical health and build a connection with their unborn baby. It reduces stress and anxiety, lower back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms, nausea, headaches and shortness of breath, improves sleep and increase strength, flexibility and endurance of muscles needed for childbirth. A limited number of prospective randomized trials exist about the benefits of yoga in pregnancy and childbirth. An analysis of how yoga exercises in pregnancy affect the labour pattern, the outcome as well as the caesarean rate in a population of European pregnant women will be performed.