The benefits of yoga for pregnancy.

For pregnant women, there is more benefit to practicing yoga an hour a day than walking an hour a day. Results from a study that was done at Gunasheela Surgical and Maternity Hospital in Bangalore, India detail the advantages of a daily yoga practice.

335 women who were between 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy were enrolled in this study. They were divided into two groups. 169 women in the yoga group practiced for an hour a day, including breathing, meditation and physical postures. 166 women in the control group walked 30 minutes twice a day. Both groups practiced every day from the time they enrolled in the study to when they gave birth and were monitored by frequent telephone calls and maintenance of an activity diary.

The primary measurements for comparison of outcome were the baby's birth weight and gestational age at birth.

For the women who practiced yoga, birth weights of 2,500 grams or more were higher, preterm labor was lower, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) associated with IUGR was also lower in the yoga group. There were no significant adverse effects or increase of complications.

The authors concluded that integrating a daily yoga program into a woman's pregnancy care is safe. In fact, a regular yoga practice can improve birth weight, decrease preterm labor and decrease IUGR either in isolation or associated with PIH.

"Efficacy of Yoga on Pregnancy Outcomes" Journal of Alternative Complimentary Medicine, April 2005 11:2, pgs. 237-44.