Benefits of Hydrotherapy for Pregnant Women
Hydrotherapy has been used for a long time to treat different health-related issues. Hydrotherapy for pregnant women is very beneficial because it helps women breathe easier. It even helps reduce several uncomfortable side effects of pregnancy.
Regular exercise significantly improves pregnant women’s quality of life. As long as your doctor recommends it for you, hydrotherapy for pregnant women is one of the best options.
Learn more about what hydrotherapy is all about below!
What is hydrotherapy for pregnant women?
Water is one of the most beneficial elements for the body. Among its many properties, it hydrates, relaxes, and cleanses your body.
The word hydrotherapy, according to research at the University of Vigo, comes from the Greek word hydor meaning water, and therapeia meaning therapy. All together, it means “healing through water.”
Hydrotherapy means using water for therapeutic purposes. Through this treatment, water helps pregnant women exercise and relax.
Benefits of hydrotherapy for pregnant women
Also, physical activity doesn’t just help mothers, but also their babies. Hydrotherapy for pregnant women has lots of great and important benefits:
- Less force from gravity.
- Less pressure on joints.
- Promotes joint and muscle movements. This helps boost your flexibility.
- Reduces weight by up to 90%, so you can work out much more easily.
- Increase the bond between mother and child.
- Reduces back pain.
- Experience less edemas and varicose veins during pregnancy.
- Better blood flow.
- Reduces the risk of fetal trauma.
- Strengthens your abs.
- Stimulates the production of endorphins, which make you feel good.
- Prevents muscle pain, especially by your spine. The constant changes your body goes through usually causes these pains during pregnancy.
- Strengthens and tones pelvic muscles.
- Helps your diaphragm, which changes during pregnancy.
Julh, Andersen and Olsen have researched the benefits of aquatic activities in pregnancy. According to them, “Women who used hydrotherapy had less risk of babies with birth defects. Also, they had less risk of premature births.”
Recommendations for hydrotherapy for pregnant women
The American College of Obstetrician and Gynecology presented a list of tips for mothers who want to do hydrotherapy. These are some of the most important:
- Your doctor must decide that hydrotherapy is a good option for you.
- Don’t suddenly increase your physical activity.
- Do exercises that don’t make you too exhausted.
- Keep your heart rate at a good level.
- Stop exercising if you have side effects.
- Stay hydrated.
- Don’t let your body temperature rise.
- Do these activities 2 to 3 times per week maximum. However, follow your doctor’s recommendations.
Specialists don’t recommend hot tubs and saunas during pregnancy.
Why do hydrotherapy during pregnancy
One of the most common issues during pregnancy is to feel like you’re heavy. However, being in the water makes you feel lighter. That way, mothers can feel their muscles relax. In addition, floating gives your body more freedom so you can move more.
In addition, your joints become more flexible and you reduce varicose veins. Also, you also eliminate lots of pain that’s common during pregnancy.
Therefore, both hydrotherapy and swimming are great during pregnancy. However, make sure you’re following your doctor’s advice.
In addition, we need to emphasize that hydrotherapy for pregnant women doesn’t have any risk of injury or falling. Therefore, you can start it after your third month of pregnancy until you go into labor, as long as you’re being guided by a professional.
In conclusion, water can be a very useful natural element during pregnancy. However, you need to remember that you need your doctor to approve all of the activities that you do while pregnant. That way, you can be sure you’re not putting your health or your baby’s life at risk.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Fuentes, G. R., & Santos, R. I. (2002). Bases físicas de la hidroterapia. Fisioterapia, 24, 14-21.
- Payá, J. J. M., & Manzano, E. S. M. (2002). Hidroterapia en el embarazo. Dolor lumbar. Revista de fisioterapia, (1), 52-59.
- Pérez, A.A. (2017). Beneficios de las actividades acuáticas durante el embarazo: revisión sistemática. RIAA. Revista de Investigación en Actividades Acuáticas.
