Water Aerobics in Pregnancy Lessens Labor Pain

According to an article in the New York Times, moderate exercise during pregnancy appears to markedly lower a woman’s need for epidural pain relief when she delivers her baby, a new study suggests.

Many women hope to have natural childbirth without pain drugs but find labor so difficult they end up requesting an epidural, which provides pain relief through injection of a painkiller into the epidural space at the base of the spine. Ideally, the epidural only dulls the pain, and women remain alert and can still play an active role in labor.

However, there is a downside. Epidural pain relief may also slow labor and may make the pushing stage longer and more difficult because women lose sensation in their lower body. Even when very little drug is administered, some hospitals won’t let women walk around once they’ve had an epidural.

A small study published in the medical journal Reproductive Health suggests that women can influence their risk for needing pain relief long before labor starts. Researchers from Brazil recruited 71 expectant mothers prior to their 20th week of pregnancy. The women weren’t regular exercisers at the time of the study.

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