I have known Dr Shamanthakamani for over five decades as my classmate at Medical College, my friend and as a colleague. She is a multifaceted person known for her poweres in music, art and theatricals as a teenager, later she was a star of All India Radio (AIR) Akashavani Mysore for over a decade as a student until she qualified as a MBBS doctor from Mysore Medical College. She later went to England like most of us and got trained in pediatrics. After returning to India she was in Government Service for a long period practicing pediatric medicine. Since the last 30 years she has been associated with Gunasheela Surgical and Maternity Hospital as a Senior Pediatrician looking after the newborns.

Dr Shamanthakamani is not only a pediatrician but also holds a Masters Degree in Philosophy, Kannada literature and Journalism. She recently took up research in Yoga in relation to pregnancy and child health. She has worked very hard trying to get into the intricacies of conception, the growth of the fetus in utero and the phenomenon of parturition. She held special classes for women who were attending regular antenatal clinics in our hospital coordinating with the ultrasonologist, the labour ward staff; many a time she personally supervises on the practice of yoga during labour. Being attached to maternity hospital she has had the privilege of observing the effect of yoga on pregnant women during their antenatal and interpartum period, and its effect on the offsprings as well. Her treatise on the efficacy of yoga on outcome of pregnancy has been well accepted by “International Institute of Alternate and Complimentary Medicine”. She has been a dedicated student of “Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana” (SVYASA) - the Vivekananda Research Foundation in Bangalore. In her book she has drawn a large number of parallels between practice of current medicine and that of Vedic period in India. Her interpretation of the sayings and preachings in Veda, Upanishads, and stories in the great epics of Ramayana, Mahabharatha and Puranas like Brahmanda Purana, Markandeya Purana, etc. makes one sit-up in amazement with a question in mind “Is that true?” this only shows that the book has been written after an in depth study of ancient and modern literature bringing logic to her belief that yoga as a therapy has a preventive as well as therapeutic aspect if practiced side-by-side with modern medicine.

The first part of the book gives a view on the basics of anatomy and physiology of reproductive organs, conception and growth in utero from day of fertilization to the day of delivery. She has mentioned the modern methods of antenatal vigilance by the use of ultrasound monitoring of foetus, antepartum and intrapartum Tocography, and the use of Doppler ultrasound to assess blood flow in the fetal vessels and the fetomaternal exchange. She has also advised on the dietary practices to be observed by pregnant women dividing them into “Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic” types. The Satvic foods are said to keep the mind calm and 10happy. They are made of vegetarian components, cooked fresh, with minimum spices and served with a good heart. Satvic food is said to give vitality, inner strength and stamina. Rajasic foods have strong and pungent taste. They are sour, salty, bitter, spicy and served hot. They are said to produce excitement and prepare the mind for fight and flight mechanism. Tamasic foods are stale and left over food kept in cold storage. Consuming this type of food makes one dull, lazy and sick. Dr Shamanthakamani then writes about pregnancy induced problems like Hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes mellitus, premature onset of labour and intra- uterine growth retardation of fetus, etc. She attributes them to basically disorders caused by stress. It is at this point she brings in the practice of yoga as a “Stress Buster Mechanism!” the hormones for causing the stress are Neuro Humours produced by Cerebral Cortex working through hypothalamopituitary adrenal axis (HPA axis). These hormones can be modulated by conscientious practice of yoga, which can produce the inner calm and tranquility of mind. This she claims will reduce not only the incidence of adverse complication in pregnancy but also reduce the need for medication.

From this onwards she goes on to describe the concept of disease in Indian philosophy, the acquirement of spiritual powers by various types of yoga and interpretation of supernatural power taught by Indian sages and yogis.

Dr Shamanthakamani has certainly put in a lot of hard work to make her book authentic regarding its concepts so that people who are practicing modern medicine can open their minds towards other holistic approaches like yoga and deliver better quality health care to their patients. This book gives valuable reading material to patients, medical practitioners and those who are practicing and teaching yoga.

With latest advances in obstetric field the little life inside the womb can be visualized from the very first day of fetal life, from the moment of conception until birth, it is indeed artistic, accurate and awesome; the new life taking shape and activity inside the mother-to-be is so vivid and recognizable as a new independent entity.

At one time, the unborn was a person no one knew. Will it be a girl or a boy? Are the little organs well formed or defective? It was suspense all through; but now each and every information about the growing baby can be made available.

It is true that the development of the baby is affected by several maternal as well as fetal factors. Hypertension, diabetes, malnutrition, chronic renal disease, etc. can cause harmful effects on the fetus. Similarly chromosomal anomalies in the embryo, and infections in the mother is known to cause several birth defects. These are prone to several complications in the newborn during pregnancy period and even later in childhood. Apart from these causes, tension, fear, anxiety and chronic stress in the mother can cause serious problems, resulting in the poor outcome.

It is now well-recognised that stress causes psycho-neuro-immunological changes in the body leading to pregnancy complications, it can lead to irregular, incoordinate uterine contractions causing distress ending in operative surgery. Hyper-sensitivity of the mother leads to intolerance to pain, requiring heavy dosage of pain killers which are not safe for the unborn.

Yoga therapy is fast advancing as an effective tool in many physical and psychological disorders; the changes that take place in the human system at all levels by the practice of yoga and holistic living have been investigated by many scientists over the past several decades, and enough proof is available of the beneficial effects of yoga on the mind and body of the human beings.

There is still a lot of apprehension and fear in the minds of doctors and obstetricians, much more than the pregnant women themselves; whether yoga exercises bring adverse effects, as there are many misconceptions about yoga. I must make it very clear here, that asanas are a very small part of the entire integrated practices. It is to calm down the mind and allay their fears and anxiety about their pregnancy and delivery that yoga emphasises. There are also cultural and social inhibitions in them, which need counseling, coaxing and motivating.12

Though, there are multiple studies, evaluating the benefits of yoga, this is the first study to specifically look at the effects of yoga on pregnancy outcomes. This book provides useful guidelines for pregnant women, gives information about anatomical, physiological changes and adaptations to pregnancy and also any complications that can arise, such as Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH), Intra Uterine Growth Retardation (IUGR), Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), etc. It gives a comprehensive knowledge of modified set of yoga practices, that can be practiced throughout pregnancy including Asanas, Pranayama, Meditation Techniques, Relaxation Techniques, Mudras and Bandas. There are some interesting puranic stories also.

I have used ‘he’ for the unborn child throughout the book so that there is no confusion in pointing to the mother or the fetus by using ‘she’.

The key message that I can confidently give through this book is that yoga practices are safe, effective and beneficial and help in easy delivery.

I am extremely grateful to Dr Sulochana Gunasheela, Director of ‘Gunasheela Maternity Hospital’, Bangalore for giving me the opportunity and all help to conduct the research study on “Effects of Yoga in Pregnancy”. Her Ultrasonologists Dr Tara Menon and Dr Akhila Dilip gave me all the help with the Color Doppler Investigations. All the staff in the hospital were extremely affectionate, tolerant and co-operative.

I am extremely thankful to Dr HR Nagendra, Vice-Chancellor of VYOMA University, Bangalore, and Dr Nagarathna, chief physician and yoga therapy consultant at SVYASA, for guiding me at every stage during my research study.

I greatly appreciate the help of my Computer Specialist and Graphic Designer Mr Ravi Kumar GS, for ensuring quality graphic pictures and for typing the manuscript neatly.

I thank Shri JP Vij, Chairman and Managing Director of Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd. for Publishing the book.