The effect of Bhramari pranayama on pregnant women having cardiovascular hyper -reactivity to cold pressor test

Background: Stress has been said to be the underlying cause in the etiopathogenesis of the diseases like Bronchial asthma, Peptic ulcer, Essential hypertension and Toxemia of pregnancy. The identification of pre eclampsia and its effective management plays a significant role in the outcome of pregnancy both for the mother and the baby. Yogic exercises have been reported to be beneficial in stress related disorders by producing calming effect on nervous system. Aims & Objective: The aim of present study was to explore the possibility of the use of Bhramari Pranayama as a preventive measure of pre eclampsia. Materials and Methods: Fifty pregnant women in the age group of 20 to 28 years were included in the present study. The cardio vascular reactivity of these subjects was studied by application of the cold pressor test. Initially there were 28 hyper reactors to this test. These hyper reactors underwent Bhramari Pranayama for the duration of 2 months. It was observed that the hyper- reactivity of 22 subjects was converted to hypo- reactivity whereas the remaining 6 subjects did not alter their response. Results: Regular practice of Bhramari Pranayama reduced the cardio vascular hyper- reactivity to cold stress after just 8 weeks. Conclusion: The hyper- reactivity to cold stress may be an early indication of the developing pre eclampsia. Conversion of this response to hypo -reactivity may be used as a tool for prevention of pregnancy induced hyper tension.