Physical activity is any skeletal muscle-driven action of the body that requires net energy expenditure. Exercise physiology helps us comprehend the physiological mechanisms underlying physical activity's acute and long-term impacts on bodily systems as well as the adaptive changes in bodily functions brought on by the stress of physical exercise. Exercise causes significant physiological changes in the heart, lungs, blood vessels, and tissues, including alterations in oxygen uptake 1.
The major physiological changes in exercises are change in oxygen uptake, cardiovascular changes, respiratory changes, and changes in tissue. All of these modifications are largely intended to improve the tissue's access to oxygen and encourage better tissue oxygenation. Physical activity reduces the chance of acquiring diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis as a result of this physiological alteration 2. Therefore, different physical activities are advised for the treatment of many ailments because of how important physical activity is.
A recent study also suggests that physical activity during pregnancy has its own advantages in preventing pregnancy-related complications. Even though the most important thing during pregnancy and its subsequent delivery, regardless of the mode of delivery, is the wellness of the mother and the neonate, spontaneous vaginal delivery has many advantages over the other modes of delivery. Vaginal births typically avoid the risks associated with major surgery, such as severe bleeding, scarring, infections, reactions to anesthesia, and longer-lasting pain 3. But now a day the prevalence of cesarean section is increased as compared to spontaneous vaginal delivery 4.
According to new research from the World Health Organization (WHO), caesarean section use continues to rise globally, now accounting for more than 21% of all childbirths 5. While in sub-Saharan Africa, an average of 5% indicates underuse, the average is 42.8% in Latin America 6. Similarly, in Ethiopia, the prevalence of caesarean sections has increased, accounting for about 29.55% 7.
The most important contributing factors towards CS are preterm gestational age, pregnancy-related complications, labor pain, the perception that CS is painless and safer, hospital policies promoting CS, discouraging vaginal births after CS, younger age, mothers residing in an urban area, multiple pregnancies, mal-presentation, and fetal distress 4,8–10. In addition to these causative factors of surgical delivery, prolonged labor is also repeatedly reported as the most common reason for caesarean section 11.
Prolonged labor is defined as active labor that lasts for more than 12 hours. Prolonged labor has linked to an increased risk of complicated deliveries and interventions, such as operational delivery, postpartum bleeding, anal sphincter damage, and chorioamnionitis. It also affects the baby by causing insufficient oxygen, which leads to oxygen deprivation, breathing difficulties, pH imbalance, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, distress, infection, and intracranial bleeding 9.
Prolonged labor can be caused by both maternal and fetal risk factors. The most frequent maternal variables that raise the risk of protracted labor are primiparity and total maternal weight gain. On the other hand, poor presentation, high birth weight, and a big head circumference are among the factors that raise the risk of prolonged labor and its consequences 12.
Even though CS has a beneficial outcome for infant and women’s well-being, as with any major operation, there are several dangers linked with caesarean delivery. These encompass blood clot formation, bleeding, a reaction to surgical anesthesia, infection, surgical trauma to the bladder or the bowels, amniotic fluid embolism, and discomfort in the womb. CS also increases the risks of subsequent pregnancies, such as uterine rupture, abnormal placentation, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, and premature delivery 13.
Additionally, there is growing evidence that neonates delivered via CS are exposed to a range of hormonal, physical, microbiological, and medicinal exposures. These exposures have been shown to have a major impact on the physiology of newborns. Impaired immunological growth, an increased incidence of allergy, atopy, and asthma, as well as a decrease in the richness of the intestinal microbiota, are all immediate effects of CS on the neonate 14. Because of the potential short- and long-term health risks to mothers and children, WHO advised against performing caesarean sections unless absolutely required 15. Therefore, the objective of this study is to assess the effect of degree of physical activity during pregnancy on the mode of delivery and duration of labor that might have a significant value to reduce operational delivery.