Pool mums feel less pain

A South American study testing how safe it is for expectant mothers to take to the pool has come up with some highly positive results. Not only did it find that aquarobics is not harmful to pregnant women, it found that fewer of the participants needed painkillers during childbirth.

Although the study was not set up to examine that particular aspect of aquarobics, it is a very positive finding, supporting anecdotal evidence that gentle aquarobic exercise during pregnancy may make the act of childbirth less painful. Generally it is accepted that exercise in water is easier for pregnant women because there is less weight-bearing in water, and also that gentle exercise makes them fitter, and therefore more capable of withstanding the rigours of childbirth.

The Brazilian study “Water Aerobics in Pregnancy: Cardiovascular Response, Labour and Neonatal Outcomes,” looked at pregnant women who undertook aquarobics three times per week. It looked at the cardiovascular measurements of mothers during birth, including looking at the health of the baby. It studied 71 women who were less that 20 weeks pregnant, split into two groups – one group did water based exercise, while the control group did not. While the aim was to see if there were any negative effects of the water-based exercise and the results concluded there were no harmful effects on either the mother or baby.

As such, it supports regular mild to moderate-intensity aqua-aerobics as a healthy form of exercise during pregnancy. Additionally, it found these women in the exercise group requested pain relief less often, suggesting that moderate-intensity aqua aerobics can help ease the pain of childbirth.