Objectives: to determine the magnitude and type of regular physical activity changes in women around the time of pregnancy. Background: This systematic review synthesizes the results of studies examining regular physical activity in women before they become pregnant and the magnitude and type of changes during pregnancy and the post natal period. Methods:Electronic data bases were searched for relevant articles and PRISMA guidelines for selection of articles were used. Only studies looking at naturally occurring, non intervention changes in regular activity levels were included. The quality assessment was based on protocols of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Of the initial 720 titles, 24 studies which met the inclusion criteria of being non intervention studies were included in the final review. Results: Compared to pre pregnancy, the magnitude of physical activity decreased over the course of pregnancy and post natally and the types of activities tended to be of lesser intensity than pre pregnancy. The quality of the research was varied, methodological limitations included using subjective methods of assessment of physical activity (9/24), failing to report reliabilities or validity of measures used (8/24), no information on parity (13/24) or level of fitness prior to pregnancy (11/24). Conclusion: The evidence suggests a marked decrease in the amount and type of moderate to strenuous physical activity during the transition to motherhood, which does not always increase again in the post partum. Patient education targeting specific physical activities at regular intervals during and after pregnancy to improve long term maternal health is necessary.3

This study describes the effect of hypnosis on pain relief during labor and childbirth. Using a qualitative approach, 6 pregnant women were trained to use self-hypnosis for labor. Outcomes were analyzed using Colaizzi's procedure. Women described their feelings about hypnosis during labor as: a sense of relief and consolation, self-confidence, satisfaction, lack of suffering labor pain, changing the feeling of pain into one of pressure, a decrease in fear of natural childbirth, lack of tiredness, and lack of anxiety. They expressed increased concentration on the uterus and cervical muscle, awareness of all the stages of labor, and having "positive thoughts." Births were perceived as being very satisfactory compared to their previous experiences.

The results show that women and their husbands experienced marked changes in perceived health-related functioning and depressive symptoms during and after pregnancy. In addition, the study found that those women who had undergone Cesarean section had higher mental well-being scores. Future research should determine the benefits of extending pre-conception and pre-natal guidelines on the benefits of regular physical activity throughout and after pregnancy in Persian couples.

No abstract