11 Benefits of Yoga for Pregnant Women

Pregnancy brings a variety of physical and mental changes in a woman’s life. It is critical that expectant moms take care of their health at this time in their lives.

While many habits and activities may need to be reconsidered during this period, most women are particularly skeptical about exercising. Experts, on the other hand, agree that exercising while pregnant is not only safe but also advantageous to the mother-to-be.

Prenatal yoga is one method to exercise during pregnancy. Here are 11 benefits of Yoga for pregnant women.

1. Makes preparations for labor and delivery

A woman’s body is naturally designed to give birth. But, most women are anxious and scared during their labor and delivery.

It is essential for the body to be loose during labor and delivery. But since most women are terrified during childbirth, Fear causes the body to tighten.

This tightening of the body leads to the cycle of fear-tension-pain. This creates tension during the labor and delivery as the woman is not calm.

It’s very important for the mom to be calm during labor and delivery especially if she wishes to have natural childbirth with little or no pain medication.

Working to connect with yogic methods of deep, mindful breathing can help the body loosen and relax.

This allows women to achieve a state of calm in a mammalian environment in which they can allow their bodies to do what they instinctively know how to give birth.

2. Tone vital muscle groups

Prenatal yoga strengthens the physical body, particularly the pelvic floor, hip, and abdominal core muscles, in preparation for childbirth.

A properly toned muscle has the proper length-to-strength ratio – it is neither too lax nor too tight.

Building and maintaining muscle tone during pregnancy with yoga poses like lunges and gentle backbends can help minimize aches and pains.

Yoga also helps in restoring your body to a toned condition after delivery.

Malasana, a squat position, is one of the yoga poses that helps pregnant women in labor and birthing.

3. Relief from common pregnancy complaints

If you’re experiencing common pregnancy discomforts like lower back pain, nausea, insomnia, headaches, shortness of breath, or carpal tunnel syndrome, prenatal yoga may be the answer.

Stretching and toning muscles can help blood circulate more freely throughout the body. Deep breathing can also provide much-needed oxygen to your baby’s and your own muscles.

Prenatal yoga can also help in stretching the bones and ligaments and thus, making more space for the baby.

It helps with the back pain caused by the stretching of muscles as the baby expands in the womb.

4. Helps your changing body

During pregnancy, the body undergoes rapid change and requires assistance in adjusting and compensating.

Prenatal yoga is intended to support the changes that occur in a pregnant body. By providing women with healthy, safe ways to stretch and strengthen their muscles, particularly their lower bodies, to aid in the process of supporting a growing belly.

Apart from that, there is a change in hormones in pregnant women causing them to suffer from mood swings, anxiety, and depression.

Yoga helps to support both the physical change as well as mental change in the pregnant woman.

5. Improves equilibrium

Pregnancy disturbs the body’s equilibrium. As the fetus develops in the womb, its center of gravity shifts.

The hips tighten as the weight of the baby increases. The breasts become larger, causing stress in the upper back, chest, and shoulders.

The change in gravity causes the changes in progesterone and estrogen levels to make you emotionally sensitive

Yoga poses such as Pranayamas help you focus on your breathing and fine-tune your physical and emotional harmony. Yoga pranayama I, II, III, IV, and Anulom – Vilom without holding the breath are all beneficial to pregnant women.

6. Relieves pregnancy pain

As the baby grows, greater tension is placed on the back, hips, and shoulder’s muscular groups. This causes serious pregnancy pains to the mother to be.

Because the pains of pregnancy can interfere with a woman’s everyday life, most pregnant women will seek some form of treatment for these pains.

While medications can be effective in reducing pains, the medications during pregnancy can have a serious impact on the child. On this, Yoga can be a great alternative as it is scientifically proven to relieve pregnancy pains.

In a controlled experimental study, women who participated in yoga 30 minutes a day, three days a week, for 12-14 weeks of their pregnancies reported less discomfort between the 38th and 40th weeks of gestation than those women who performed simple stretching routines at the same frequency.

Thus, yoga is one of the most effective treatments for the pains associated with pregnancy. Goumukhasana, or sitting on a chair with the back straight are some yoga postures that might assist during pregnancy.

7. Improved sleep quality

Sleep may be difficult during late pregnancy due to the restricted positions as well as more difficulty falling asleep and frequently waking up in the night due to fetal movement.

But good sleep is very important for the sound development of the baby in the womb. Yoga can help in improved sleep quality as it boosts the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that governs sleep and wakefulness.

A study found that women who participated in seven weekly sessions of yoga and mindful meditation had significant improvements in their sleep patterns.

8. Helps to cope with prenatal depression

Most women experience depression during their pregnancy which is also known as parental depression.

Due to changes in hormones, pregnant women are at high risk of experiencing depression which is harmful to both the mother and baby.

Yoga has been shown in studies to help with depression. Yoga lowers cortisol levels, a stress hormone that regulates serotonin levels, a neurotransmitter linked to depression.

According to a 2012 study from the University of Michigan, mindfulness yoga, which combines physical poses with meditation practices, can provide measurable relief from the depression that can accompany the emotional journey of pregnancy.

Yoga such as Sudarshan Kriya focuses on rhythmic breathing which reduces depressive symptoms and decreases cortisol levels.

9. Reduce stress levels

During pregnancy, stress can increase the chances of having a premature baby or a low-birthweight baby. So, a pregnant woman should not take stress as it can negatively harm the baby.

Yoga helps in reducing the stress level as it promotes relaxation. Yoga is the natural antidote to stress.

In a study, pregnant mothers who practiced yoga for a month reported 31.57% less perceived stress at 36 weeks gestation compared to their baseline stress levels.

Also Read – Benefits of Yoga for Mental Health

In addition, this study found that prenatal yoga can help to balance the body’s autonomic responses to stress thereby reducing the likelihood of experiencing the negative effects of increased prenatal stress.

This could be due to the fact that yoga is an example of a holistic mind-body intervention aimed at promoting positive health outcomes by unifying the patient’s mind, body, and spirit.

The peaceful environment and relaxing music found in most yoga courses may also be beneficial to de-stress.

10. Makes you happier

Happy mommies make healthy babies. On other hand, if the mother is unhappy, then it has a negative impact on the baby.

The babies of unhappy mothers may face health complications, Low IQ, and low birth weight. Thus, it is very important for the mothers to be happy.

People feel happy when their brains release “feel-good” chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.

Yoga raises your heart rate, works your muscles, and causes the release of those brain chemicals.

Yoga’s deep breathing triggers the parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in a calming and relaxing impact.

A regular yoga practice, including meditation, helps to gently eliminate these burdens from our minds and bodies. It helps you to relax and ultimately you feel happy.

11. Reduces anxiety

Anxiety and panic attacks are very common in pregnancy. Hormonal changes of pregnancy, prior heartbreaking miscarriages, and sleep difficulties may all contribute to anxiety for pregnant women.

Feeling anxious in pregnancy is normal but anxiety is bad for pregnant women and their child. High anxiety can increase the risk of developing preeclampsia, premature birth, and low birth weight.

Yoga can help you feel less anxious. Because there is a link between anxiety and respiratory difficulties, yoga’s breath training may be very beneficial to relieve anxiety.

Yoga reduces cortisol, the key stress hormone. Anxiety thrives on future-focused thinking, and it grows as you become more pessimistic about what might happen.

Because you are present in the moment when you practice yoga every day, you will have less worry. That’s because your breath, thoughts, and movement work together to keep your thoughts from spiraling out of control.

Conclusion

Prenatal yoga is an excellent choice for any healthy pregnant woman to use in order to prepare herself physically and emotionally for childbirth.

While there are many benefits of yoga for pregnant women, there are some warnings and contraindications that any practitioner should be aware of.

First, yoga must be modified to fit the individual and her body. Not everyone who practices prenatal yoga will be able to do every pose recommended.

If you are going through yoga and find that a pose is painful or too difficult, you should either seek a modification of that pose, move on to another pose or stop doing Yoga. Thus, it is advisable that you should ask your doctor first before trying any prenatal yoga poses.