August 30, 2004- Perineal exercises during pregnancy would have enabled Norwegian women to prevent the duration of the push in childbirth from being prolonged beyond an hour, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.
The perineum is a group of muscles that supports the large intestine, bladder, and uterus; it is also called the pelvic floor. During pregnancy, these muscles relax and pregnant women are usually encouraged to strengthen them by performing exercises to prevent urinary incontinence after childbirth.
In a randomized clinical study with a control group1, Norwegian researchers wanted to determine the effect of these same exercises on the duration of the second stage of labor. This stage, which consists of pushing until the baby is expelled, lasts on average 60 minutes for a first child. For the purposes of the study, a relapse exceeding one hour was considered prolonged.
A total of 301 women pregnant with their first child participated in the study. The researchers subjected 148 of them to exercise sessions at a rate of one hour per week for three months, from the 20e at the 36 e week of pregnancy. The physiotherapist supervising these exercises also encouraged these participants to perform pelvic floor contractions at home. At the time of delivery, only 24% of women in this group had to push for more than an hour compared to 38% of women in the control group who did not follow the exercise program. Although the gap is not very large, the researchers consider it significant.
Marie france Coutu – PasseportSanté.net
According to the British Medical Journal.
1. Salvesen KÅ, Mørkved S, Randomized Controlled Trial of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training during Pregnancy, British Medical Journal, 2004; 329: 378-80.
