Qigong for Well-Being in Pregnancy?

Qigong, a traditional Chinese mind–body exercise, is believed to promote physical and mental well-being during pregnancy. This multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial aimed to investigate the effects of qigong on anxiety, stress, and exercise self-efficacy in pregnant women. It included pregnant women in their second trimester attending prenatal education classes at Baskent University and Alaaddin Keykubat University. Women in the first or third trimester with uncontrolled systemic diseases, high-risk pregnancies, or irregular attendance were excluded. Participants were randomly assigned via Randomizer.org to either the Qigong group or the control group. The Qigong group performed Baduanjin qigong exercises for 30–45 minutes, three times a week, in addition to standard prenatal counseling. The control group received standard prenatal counseling only. Demographic data were recorded. All participants completed the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Scale (PrAS), Pregnancy Stress Rating Scale (PSRS), and Pregnancy Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (P-ESES).

A total of 102 pregnant women were analyzed (qigong group: 52; control group: 50). The mean age was 27.95±3.66 years, and the mean gestational week was 26.94±2.12. The qigong group showed significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure increases compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Exercise self-efficacy scores increased significantly in the qigong group (p < 0.05). Pregnancy-related anxiety and stress scores, including all subscales, showed significant improvement in the qigong group (p < 0.05), with no significant changes in the control group (p > 0.05).

The authors concluded that Baduanjin qigong was effective in reducing anxiety and stress levels and improving exercise self-efficacy in pregnant women. This non-pharmacological intervention may offer a safe, supportive approach to mental well-being during pregnancy.

I beg to differ and claim that qigong has no effects per se, and that the observed outcomes are entirely due to placebo effects.

In case you think this is an unsubstantiated claim, let me tell you that it is much more solidly based on evidence than the conclusion of the authors:

• Firstly, there are no compelling reasons to believe that qigong has meaningful health effects.
• Secondly, as the study does not control for placebo effects and qigong is likely to generate such responses, my claim seems much more plausible.

My conclusion: lousy study designs must generate unreliable results.

PS

In case you have doubts, please read up about the ‘A versus A+B’ study design, so often discussed and explained on this blog.