The Influence of Psychophysical Preparation of Pregnant Women on the Outcome of Childbirth and Postpartum Recovery

Abstract

The psychophysical preparation program for pregnant women includes physical exercises and theoretical lectures aimed at preparing the pregnant woman for childbirth and that the benefits far outweigh the risks. Exercise is an essential element of pregnancy, and OB-GYNs and other obstetric care providers should encourage their patients to continue or begin exercise. The aim of this work is to understand the impact of psychophysical preparation of pregnant women on health during and after pregnancy, birth outcomes and postpartum recovery. Twenty scientific research papers/articles including 5517 respondents were reviewed, based on databases: Web of Science, EBSCO, Scopus, Medline, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and others. Works published from 2017-2022 were reviewed. The results of this study show that pregnant women who attended the program of psychophysical preparation for childbirth had a chance to experience childbirth in a more beautiful light, to be prepared, so that they would go to the maternity hospital with less fear, how to use breathing techniques during childbirth, and how to have the easiest and most beautiful childbirth without the use of drugs and interventions. Pregnant women had significantly more positive outcomes of childbirth as well as postpartum recovery and mental health. Psychological support and education have positive outcomes on the mental health of pregnant women because they reduce fear of the unknown and reduce the risk of postpartum depression. Higher rates of intact perineum, reduction of episiotomy and less damage of perineal tears are recorded. The preparation itself significantly affects the outcome of the test subjects’ births, where vaginal births are much more common, and the rate of instrumental methods of birth and caesarean section is reduced. A positive outcome was recorded during postpartum recovery.