Influence of prenatal physical activity on the course of labour and delivery according to the new Polish standard for perinatal care.

Abstract

A review of the literature shows that regular prenatal physical activity can help reduce medical interventions during labour, without having negative consequences for either the mother or the foetus. It should be an important tool to implement the Polish standard for perinatal care. There is a need to promote regular prenatal physical activity among women, medical personnel, and physical education staff. Detailed instructions for designing prenatal exercise programmes should be included in the new guidelines for physical activity during pregnancy, both in Poland and abroad. To support or negate the hypothesis of the positive effects of physical activity on the course of labour and delivery, well-designed research trials should be conducted with the properly structured prenatal exercise programmes in the intervention groups.