Prof. Liran Hirsch explains what an at-risk pregnancy is and in which cases it is necessary to maintain a pregnancy/Wala system!
A new Israeli study found that a daily amount of steps, not particularly demanding, throughout the months of pregnancy, can significantly reduce the risk of a birth that ends in cesarean section, as well as other complications such as postpartum bleeding, high blood pressure, preeclampsia and diabetes complications, and also, the use of an epidural during childbirth.
The research was presented at the conference of the American Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine (SMFM), which took place this week in the state of Washington in the United States.
The study was led by
Prof. Ron Belussky
,
Dr. Chen Ben David
,
Dr. Yaniv Tzipori
, and medical students
Raina Boyarsky
and
Deborah Rosenberg
from the Women's and Maternity Department at the Rambam Medical Center.
The study, in which 401 women who came to give birth at the Rambam Medical Center took part During the first six months of 2023, reviewed the physical activity data recorded on the same women's cell phones, when the records were reviewed a year back.
These are women who came to the hospital for the purpose of giving birth to a single fetus, vaginally (that is, not a planned caesarean section), some of them for their first birth, others for a repeat birth.
You don't need to step too far to reduce risks in childbirth/ShutterStock
"The women we examined presented average walking data," explains Prof. Ron Belussky, director of the obstetrics-gynecology ultrasound (US) unit at Rambam, who is one of the research team. "These are not female athletes.
We then examined the data we collected against the developments in the delivery room, and the relationship between the average daily steps taken and the various birth scenarios."
Women of childbearing age walk an average of 4,500 steps a day. The women surveyed in the study walked an average of 3,300 steps before they gave birth. During the pregnancy, from each trimester, the number of their steps decreased: from 2,900 steps at the beginning of the pregnancy to 2,100-2,200 in the last month.
The findings of the study show that: women who walked an average of 3,000 steps during their pregnancy were less helped by epidurals compared to those who walked an average of 2,600 steps per day
Postpartum bleeding complications were observed less among women who managed to walk about 2,800 steps a day, compared to those who recorded 2,160 steps in their daily average
.
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723 daily steps separated the group of women who gave birth vaginally, compared to those whose birth ended in a spontaneous cesarean procedure, when the average number of steps recorded among these groups of women was 2,821 and 2,098 respectively.
The chance of developing preeclampsia and gestational diabetes decreased among women who managed to walk 2,829 steps every day during the months of pregnancy, compared to 2,517 among the women who suffered from these complications.
"Variables such as weight, smoking, and previous cesarean sections did not affect the statistical results in the categories we examined," adds Prof. Belussky, "but the number of steps did. In terms of data reflection, the registration on smartphones shows about 90% of the physical activity of its owners, at the very least, so It appears from other studies, so the recorded data was a reliable basis for data analysis. When we tried to get a golden number, an amount of steps that guarantees as much effect as possible, we arrived at a calculation of 2,300 steps per day, during the entire period of pregnancy. This amount can reduce the risk of cesarean section by four to five times More than those who go less, and significantly improve the chance of manifestation of the other risks we examined."
According to the researchers, it is difficult to say why a daily walk to such an extent has an effect on different birth scenarios, since there are a variety of variables, but without a doubt it is an easy activity that can be good for the mother and the fetus.
More on the same topic:
birth
Rambam