Effect of antenatal exercises on second stage of labor outcomes in nulliparous women

Abstract

The second stage of labor (SSL) has often been neglected, leading to birthing complications, perinatal morbidities, and higher rates of cesarean section (CS) in nulliparous women. In this paper, it was aimed to determine the effect of antenatal exercises on labor outcomes in nulliparous women. Two-group posttest-only randomized study. Overall, 60 nulliparous women at their 30th to 32nd weeks of gestation were allocated into two groups randomly. Group (A) received only routine antenatal care and educational instructions till the time of delivery (n=30), while group (B) received the same routine antenatal care and educational instructions in addition to antenatal exercises till the time of delivery (n=30). Comparing both groups revealed that group (B) had a significant increase in the number of spontaneous vaginal deliveries (p<0.05) and a significant decrease in duration of SSL (p<0.05), without any need to admit their neonates to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).