A recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that regular exercise during pregnancy can reduce the rate of Cesarean deliveries.

Conducted by Thomas Jefferson University Medical College researchers, the study followed more than 2,000 pregnant women split into two randomized groups. Half of them exercised 35 to 90 minutes, three to four times a week, while the others did not. Just under 18 percent of the women in the exercise group ended up having Cesarean deliveries versus 22 percent in the non-exercising group.

Exercising during pregnancy also appears to improve gestational health. The study participants that worked out regularly experienced a lower incidence of both hypertensive disorders and diabetes mellitus.

This article appears in the November 2016 issue of Natural Awakenings.