A Meta-analysis of the Effect of Aerobic Exercise during Pregnancy on Maternal Labor Pains

Abstract

Objective: Systematically evaluate the effect of prenatal aerobic exercise on maternal labor pain.Methods: Systematic search: Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of science, PubMed, China Biomedical Database, China Knowledge Network (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Wipu.com, etc., and the time limit of the search was from the establishment of the library to June 2024, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to the purpose of the study were collected and included by the after 2 researchers independently screened the literature, extracted information and evaluated the risk of bias of the included studies, RevMan5.3 software was applied to analyze the data. Results: A total of 10 RCTs were included, including 1144 cases of labor. Meta-analysis showed that prenatal aerobic exercise was effective in relieving labor pain level throughout the entire laboring process, with an MD [95% CI] of -1.80 [-2.75,-0.84], (P<0.05), when compared with the control group. However, the effect was not significant in relieving 3-4 cm of uterine opening and when the uterine opening was more than 4 cm. Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that prenatal aerobic exercise relieves labor pain levels throughout labor, but is not significantly effective in relieving uterine opening of 3-4 cm and 4 cm or more. Due to the limitations of the number and quality of included studies, the above conclusions need to be verified by more high-quality studies.