Yoga and complications of pregnancy:
Performing yoga in a high-risk pregnancy has shown that yoga can potentially be an effective therapy in reducing hypertensive related complications of pregnancy and improving fetal outcome. The study included 68 high-risk pregnant women who were randomized into two groups: yoga and control. The yoga group received standard care plus one-hour yoga sessions, 3 times per week from the 12th to the 28th week of pregnancy. The study showed significantly fewer pregnancies with induced hypertension, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) cases in the yoga group. There were also significantly fewer Small for Gestational Age (SGA) babies and newborns with low APGAR scores, used to quickly evaluate a newborn’s physical condition, in the yoga group. (59)