Yoga can Decrease the Stress Response in Pregnant Women

Pregnant women can encourage life long health in their children by being relaxed during pregnancy. When women are stressed, their cortisol levels increase, which can have detrimental effects on the fetus, priming them to a lifelong exaggerated response to stress, and perhaps a susceptibility to addictive behaviour patterns to diffuse the stress response. Yoga and meditation are effective tools in pregnancy to decrease the stress response, protecting mother and child. A 2009 study published in the Int J Gynaecol Obstet Mar;104(3) explored the effect of yoga on stress and heart rate variability in pregnant women. One hundred and twenty-two healthy women between the 18th and 20th week of pregnancy in Bangalore, India, were randomized to practicing yoga and deep relaxation or standard prenatal exercises 1-hour daily. The results revealed that perceived stress decreased by 31.57% in the yoga group and increased by 6.60% in the control group. During a guided … Continued