Efficacy of Yoga on Pregnancy Outcome

ABSTRACT Objective: To study the efficacy of yoga on pregnancy outcomes. Design and setting: Three hundred thirty five (335) women attending the antenatal clinic at Gunasheela Surgical and Maternity Hospital in Bangalore, India, were enrolled between 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy in a prospective, matched, observational study; 169 women in the yoga group and 166 women in the control group. Methods: Women were matched for age, parity, body weight, and Doppler velocimetry scores of umbilical and uterine arteries. Yoga practices, including physical postures, breathing, and meditation were practiced by the yoga group one hour daily, from the date of entry into the study until delivery. The control group walked 30 minutes twice a day (standard obstetric advice) during the study period. Compliance in both groups was ensured by frequent telephone calls and strict maintenance of an activity diary. Main outcomes: Birth weight and gestational age at delivery were primary outcomes. Results: The number of babies with birth weight Ն2500 grams was significantly higher (p Ͻ 0.01) in the yoga group. Preterm labor was significantly lower (p Ͻ 0.0006) in the yoga group. Complications such as isolated intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (p Ͻ 0.003) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) with associated IUGR (p Ͻ 0.025) were also significantly lower in the yoga group. There were no significant adverse effects noted in the yoga group. Conclusions: An integrated approach to yoga during pregnancy is safe. It improves birth weight, decreases preterm labor, and decreases IUGR either in isolation or associated with PIH, with no increased complications. 23

Immediate Effect of Indian Music on Cardiac Autonomic Control And Anxiety: A Comparative Study

Background: Many studies have shown that music experience is the key to develop future therapies in order to prevent the development of cardiovascular disorders. Aims: The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of heart rate variability (HRV) on exposure to Indian raga Bhupali with that of two control groups of pop music and no music or silence in a sample of healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: Autonomic functioning, anxiety level, and subjective feeling were assessed in 28 healthy subjects, both male and female [group mean age ± standard deviation (SD), 19.68 ± 2.57] during three sessions. The three sessions were the musical session intervention with the Indian raga Bhupali, pop music with steady beats, and "no music session." Assessments were made before (5 min), during (10 min), and after (5 min) in each of the three states on 3 separate days. Results: During the Indian raga, there was a significant decrease in the low frequency (LF) power (P < 0.01) and increase in the high frequency (HF) power (P < 0.01) in the frequency domain analysis of the HRV spectrum. There was also a significant decrease in the mean heart rate (HR) (P < 0.01) and a significant increase in the NN50 (P < 0.05) and RMSSD (P < 0.05) in the time domain analysis of HRV. Both frequency and time domain measures are indicative of parasympathetic activity. The anxiety level significantly (P < 0.001) decreased post the Indian raga session and significantly (P < 0.01) increased post the pop session. The subjective assessment of perceived feeling using the visual analog scale (VAS) comparing Indian raga with pop and silence sessions showed a significant difference of feeling positive (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Exposure to the Indian raga Bhupali reduced sympathetic activity and/or increased vagal modulation with reduced anxiety levels and subjective assessment of perceived feeling showed positive changes