ABSTRACT
Objective@#To explore the effect of the practice of healthy gymnastics by pregnant woman on the outcome of their primipara delivery.@*Methods@#A total of 260 primiparas with no contraindications of vaginal delivery were selected from February 2016 to May 2017 from our hospital. None of the women had any family history of mental illness or miscarriage, and their prenatal body mass index (BMI) was normal with no complications during pregnancy. According to their choice (to practice gymnastics or not), 130 women who did not do gymnastics were assigned to the control group, and 130 women who practiced gymnastics were assigned to the observation group. The control group had routine examinations and health care check-up during pregnancy, while the observation group practiced gymnastics from the 28th week until delivery. Delivery modes, perineal lacerations, bodyweight gain, delivery BMI, and macrosomia incidence of the two groups were compared. Delivery modes and perineal lacerations were compared with χ2 test, and bodyweight gain, delivery BMI, and macrosomia incidence, were compared with t-tests between the two groups.@*Results@#In the control group, there were 79 women (63.7%) with vaginal delivery (natural delivery with midwifery delivery) and 36 caesarean deliveries for medical factors (29%); in the observation group, there were 99 vaginal deliveries (79.2%) and 22 caesarean deliveries for medical factors (17.6%). The percentage of natural delivery was higher (χ2=7.214) while the percentage of cesarean deliveries for medical factors was lower in the observation group (χ2=4.553); the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). In the control group, there were 79 perineal lacerations, of which 4 were grade Ⅰ (5.1%), 52 were grade Ⅱ (65.8%), and 23 had a perineal side incision (29.1%); in the observation group, there were 99 perineal lacerations, of which 33 were grade Ⅰ (33.3%), 50 were grade Ⅱ (50.5%), and 16 had a perineal side incision (16.2%). Grade Ⅰ perineal lacerations in the observation group were significantly higher than that in the control group (χ2=21.326), and the rate of perineal side incision was lower in the observation group than in the control group (χ2=4.308); the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). In the control group, bodyweight gain during pregnancy was (15.9±7.2) kg, delivery BMI was (27.2±3.7) kg/m2, and there were 10 incidents of macrosomia (8.1%); in the observation group, bodyweight gain during pregnancy was (13.6±10.6) kg, delivery BMI was (25.5±3.2) kg/m2, and there were 3 incidents of macrosomia (2.4%). Bodyweight gain during pregnancy, delivery BMI, and the incidence of macrosomia were lower in the observation group than in the control group (t=-2.001, t=-3.879 and χ2=4.036, respectively); the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05).@*Conclusion@#Pregnant woman who practice healthy gymnastics can gain reasonable bodyweight during pregnancy, control delivery BMI, have higher probability of having a natural delivery, and reduce perineal lacerations and the incidence of macrosomia. Therefore, it could be worthy of popularizing healthy gymnastics as part of routine health care.