Swimming with a belly!

Flipping through a Good Housekeeping magazine, I read something in a colored blurb that advertised one more way to help prepare my body for a physiological birth: Wateraerobics!

I'm a bit skeptical of colored blurbs, so I did some research to check the stats.

Brought to us by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Sao Paulo, Brazil AND the Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Sao Paulo, Brazil,
we have this research article to help us know the facts:
Water aerobics in pregnancy: cardiovascular response, labor and neonatal outcomes

I do realize that the experimental and control groups were made up of what I might consider to be small sample sizes (34 and 37 pregnant women, respectively).
However, look at the results: Between the two groups, there was NO DIFFERENCE in the type of delivery or duration of labor. And yet, among the wateraerobic-going-pregno-moms, only 27% requested anaglasia during labor vs 65% of those who did not particpate in the gentle water sport.

According to the study "the regular practice of moderate water aerobics by sedentary and low risk pregnant women was not detrimental to the health of the mother or the child." Please take note that the participants in the study had low risk pregnancies.

So my next thought is, "Wow! Moderate exercise really will make my natural birth easier."
And then, "I have a friend who looks really great in a maternity swimsuit. Maybe this article is for her... haha!"


And another article that commetns on the study: http://www.alternativehealthjournal.com/blog/1/study__water_aerobics_is_safe_for_pregnant_women/149/month:02/year:2009