Digital technologies encourage individuals to track their steps, but our daily step count has direct health benefits. A study conducted at Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, Israel, shows that daily walking reduces the incidence of Cesarean section deliveries and other pregnancy and birth complications.
Professor Ron Beloosesky. Credit: Rambam HCC.
A new Israeli study found that a daily walk throughout pregnancy could significantly reduce the risk of a Cesarean section, postpartum bleeding, high blood pressure, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and the use of an epidural during childbirth.
The study led by Professor Ron Beloosesky, director of Rambam’s Prenatal Ultrasound Unit, with Dr. Chen Ben David, Dr. Yaniv Zipori from the Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics; and medical students in the Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Rayna Boyarsky and Deborah Rosenberg, was recently presented at the 44th Annual Pregnancy Meeting 2024 of
the American Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine (SMFM).
In 2023, 401 women with a singleton pregnancy and planning a natural delivery participated in the six-month study. Research scientists reviewed physical activity data collected on the women’s mobile phones in the past year. “The mothers are not athletes,” explains Professor Beloosesky. “We compared the data they provided with developments in the delivery room, as well as the relationship between average daily step count and various birth scenarios.”
Women of reproductive age, average 4,500 steps daily. Study participants walked an average of 3,300 steps before conception, but, throughout each trimester, their daily step count decreased from 2,900 steps to 2,100–2,200 in the last month.
Study results showed that pregnant women with an average daily step count of 3,000 had fewer epidurals compared to those who walked 2,600 steps. The researchers also noted fewer complications resulting from postpartum bleeding in participants who walked 2,800 steps compared to those who walked only 2,160 steps.
Light Exercise Makes a Difference
Walking an extra 723 steps daily makes a difference: Women who walked an average of 2,098 steps had a higher risk of spontaneous Cesarean section deliveries than those who walked an average of 2,821 steps. In addition, the risk of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes decreased in women who managed to walk 2,829 steps every day. On the other hand, women who walked an average of 2,517 steps were at a higher risk of developing these complications.
Weight, smoking, and a prior history of Cesarean sections did not affect the statistical results in the categories we examined,” adds Professor Beloosesky, “but the number of steps did. According to additional studies, the data recorded on their smartphones shows some 90% of the participants’ overall physical activity. Hence, the data was a reliable basis for information analysis. When we tried to get a “golden number”, a daily step count of 2,300 throughout the pregnancy was the most effective. This number can reduce the risk of Cesarean section by four or five times and significantly improves the risk of developing other complications.”
The researchers say that it is difficult to pinpoint exactly why a daily walk in this range affects different birth scenarios since there are many variables, but, without a doubt, walking is good for mother and infant.
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