Abstract

Background: Today, the effect of yoga has been examined on various physical and psychological dimensions of pregnant women. However, there are still sparse studies on the effect of yoga on the uterine artery indices as well as maternal and fetal complications. Objective: The aim was to determine the effect of yoga on uterine artery Doppler indices, maternal and fetal Complications. Materials and methods: This quasi-experiential study was conducted, on 100 pregnant women. The participants were assigned to yoga and control groups. In the yoga group, the participants exercised yoga for 1 h. On the other hand, the control group received routine care. Results: The results showed that in the yoga group, the functional indices of the uterine artery (S/D, PI, RI, and DN) improved more significantly compared to the control (p = 0.01). The results also showed that in the yoga group, maternal complications (diabetes and preeclampsia), as well as fetal complications (SAG, IUGR), were significantly lower compared to the control (p = 0.01). Conclusion: This study revealed the positive effects of yoga on improving fetal development indices and reducing maternal and fetal complications following pregnancy. It can be used as a Complementary therapy alongside other treatments for mothers. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institute of Transdisciplinary Health Sciences and Technology and World Ayurveda Foundation.