Yoga as a form of leisure-time physical activity and pregnancy health outcomes

TL;DR

This study found that practicing yoga during pregnancy may reduce the risk of some adverse outcomes and help with healthy weight gain.

Contribution

This is one of the few studies to investigate the specific association between prenatal yoga and pregnancy health outcomes.

Findings

Higher yoga participation was linked to fewer adverse pregnancy outcomes.

High yoga was associated with a lower risk of preterm birth.

Yoga was associated with healthier gestational weight gain patterns.

Abstract

Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) promotes pregnancy health, but few studies have investigated how yoga — a mind-body activity — is associated with pregnancy outcomes.

To determine if engaging in yoga was associated with lower risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO).

The nuMoM2b prospective cohort study enrolled nulliparous women in their first trimester of pregnancy from eight U.S. clinical centers between October 2010-September 2013 and followed through delivery. LTPA was determined each trimester from an interview querying usual participation in up to three activities (including yoga). Yoga durations were averaged across trimesters. Participants were classified as: no yoga (0 min/week), low yoga (1-<30 min/week), some yoga (30-<75 min/week), or high yoga (≥ 75 min/week). APOs (hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, preterm birth (PTB), small-for-gestational age infants) and gestational weight gain (GWG) were prospectively assessed from medical records. Generalized logistic models calculated the risk ratio of outcomes by yoga group, adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical covariates.

Participants (n = 7,502) in the low/some/high yoga groups tended to be older, White, with higher socioeconomic status, and healthier lifestyle behaviors (all p < 0.001). Compared to no yoga in fully adjusted models, some and high yoga were associated with fewer APOs (RR = 0.86, 95%CI = 0.76–0.98; RR = 0.78, 95%CI = 0.63–0.96), and specifically PTB for high yoga (RR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.20–0.87). Low yoga was associated with less inadequate GWG (RR = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.35–0.76) and excessive GWG (RR = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.55–0.86). Some yoga was associated with less excessive GWG (RR = 0.71, 95%CI = 0.57–0.88). Yoga was not associated with other outcomes.

Prenatal yoga may help to protect against some APOs and promote healthy GWG.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-026-08659-4.

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