Yoga exercises can reduce prenatal maternal stress

Abstract

IntroductionPrenatal maternal stress is an important phenomenon. Evidence on this topic suggests that women who experience high stress during pregnancy are more likely to deliver preterm infants.ObjectivesThe goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of Yoga exercises training on stress reduction during pregnancy.MethodsIn the current study we included 20 women who participated in the Yoga exercises training during pregnancy. The control group included 20 women who were in the reading control condition during pregnancy. Women were eligible to participate if they were experiencing elevated levels of perceived stress or pregnancy-specific anxiety (PSA), as indicated by responses to the Perceived Stress Scale and the PSA scale on a screening questionnaire. Women enrolled between 12 and 26 weeks gestation were randomly assigned to either the Yoga exercises training or to the reading control condition. Effects of training were analyzed by means of an ANOVA with repeated measurements.ResultsANOVA has revealed (p