Studies on clinical and physiological changes associated with swimming by pregnant women

Abstract

In the past, pregnant women faced with the possibility of spontaneous abortion or premature delivery reduced the amount they exercised. However, when women such as pearl divers and professional athletes become pregnant, they often continue to exercise strenuously ; and it is recognized that such women have absolutely normal pregnancies and deliveries with few spontaneous abortions and premature deliveries.At this time, since swimming by pregnant women is becoming popular, I have investigated how much exercise is allowable for pregnant women. I have examined 700 pregnant women who swam, looking for spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, clinically abnormal findings before and after the period spent swimming, uterine contraction, labor duration, and the respiratory function associated with pregnancy.The results of this study are as follows :1) Incidence of spontaneous abortion and premature deliveryAmong the 700 examples of pregnant women who swam, there were no cases of spontaneous abortion and only two cases of premature delivery. This was much fewer than in the control group (P<0.01).2) Clinically abnormal findings before and after the period spent in swimmingAmong the 700 examples of pregnant women who swam, there were no cases of genital bleeding but three cases of pemature rupture of the membrane. Again, the incidence was less than the control group (p<0.05). There was one case of intrauterine death in the group of swimming women. In this there was no difference between the two groups.3) Uterine contraction before and after swimmingAfter swimming the a wave of the pregnant women reduced slightly from 49.1% to 37.3%. The A wave, which is slightly stronger in uterine contractions went from 17.0% to 27.1% and the B wave increased from 6.8% to 11.9%. Regardless of this, uterine contractions verging on premature delivery did not occur.4) The duration of laborThe duration of labor in the group of pregnant women who swam was 8.49 hours (nullipara) and 5.66 hours (multipara). In the control group, it was 13.15 hours (nullipara) and 7.97 hours (mul-tipara). Thus, the duration in women who swam was shorter than that of the control group (p< 0.005).5) Respiratory functionAmong the pregnant women who swam, there were no cases of reduced respiratory function. Judging from the observations noted above, it appears that there is no pattern of uterine contrac-tions leading to spontaneous abortion or premature delivery, and the actual clinically observed incidence of spontaneous abortion and premature delivery was very low when pregnant women swam under specific conditions. In addition, the duration of labor in pregnant women who swam was reduced. Moreover, swimming while pregnant did not exert a negative influence on respiratory function. The-refore if adequately supervised, swimming can be considered a recommended exercise for women with normal pregnancies.