Effect of Pilates Exercise Versus Circuit Exercise Training on Gestational Hypertension

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of Pilates exercises versus circuit exercise training on blood pressure and lipids in gestational hypertensive women.

Gestational hypertension is one of the most common disorders seen in human pregnancies. The disorder progresses into pre-eclampsia, a dangerous condition that can prove fatal to expectant mothers. If it is untreated several complications result such as eclampsia, stroke, the need for labor induction and placental abruption, preterm delivery, and low birth weight. Most pregnant women use medication during pregnancy despite increasing availability of information about teratogenic risks. Medication use during pregnancy still causes uncertainty and concern among pregnant women and their health care providers. Medication use has a harmful effect on the fetus such as congenital anomalies, preterm birth, low birth weight, growth retardation of the fetus, and developmental delays in totality. It remains unknown what the major concerns are among pregnant women regarding medication use. Health organizations recommend lifestyle changes that include increased levels of physical activity. Also, some researchers have recommended aerobic training for 30 minutes per day that is supplemented with resistance exercise. Pilates exercises have been showed to be safe modality for pregnant women. It showed many benefits on childbirth. It also yields a significant decrease in clinical systolic and diastolic and mean blood pressure at rest and over 24 hours, in hypertensive non-pregnant women. Pilates may be recommended as a non-drug intervention for the prevention, treatment, and control hypertension. Circuit exercise training is also a non-drug intervention may reduce systemic arterial hypertension to lower cardiovascular risk. Due to the progressive increase in maternal estrogen with pregnancy, maternal fat deposits switch from anabolic to catabolic states to maintain appropriate development of the fetus and placenta. This switch to catabolism increases the breakdown of fat stores, which increases total cholesterol and triglyceride available for maternal and fetal utilization. Further, it is essential for a normalized maternal lipid profile to ensure healthy fetal development and pregnancy outcomes. Therefore, this study will be conducted to provide evidence based for the effectiveness of Pilates exercise and circuit training on blood pressure and lipid profile in gestational hypertensive women for healthcare providers interested in women's health.