Prenatal Exercises May Lower The Need For C-sections

New findings published in Ostetrics & Gynecology show that certain prenatal exercises can significantly help to reduce the risk of need for a Caesarean section or potentially giving birth to a larger baby, according to researchers at the University of Alberta.

The study authors found that prenatal exercises could potentially help to prevent childhood obesity through a "normalization" in birth weight.

For the study, they conducted a meta-analysis that analyzed 28 randomized control studies that looked at a total of 5,322 women and how certain maternal exercises had an effect on a baby.

"We found that women who exercised had a 31 per cent reduction in the risk of having a large baby without changing the risk of having a small baby or an earlier baby," said lead researcher Margie Davenport, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, in a news release. "Further, the risk of having a Caesarean section was reduced by 20 per cent."

The findings are particularly important as babies born large are heavier as children and into adulthood. Statistics show that childhood obesity has nearly doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.