he Impact of Physical Activity during Pregnancy on Weight Gain and Delivery Outcomes
Abstract
Background: Regular physical activity during pregnancy has been previously associated with preventing delivery complications; however, the current evidence is inconsistent. Therefore, this study analyzes how physical activity affects pre-term birth, Apgar score in the first minute, birth weight, induction of labor, cesarean section, use of analgesia and anesthesia, duration of the second stage of labor and pregnancy weight gain.
Methods: The study population, selected from European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood consisted of 2,921 women. Physical activity data were obtained via questionnaires self-administered during the second trimester, while data associated with delivery were obtained via questionnaires administrated by health care professionals. A univariate analysis was used to evaluate the influence of physical activity on delivery complications. The effect of physical activity on weight gain during pregnancy and the second stage of labor duration were tested using a Mann-Whitney test and a one-sample t-test, respectively.
Results: Analyzed delivery outcomes were found to be affected by maternal age, pre-pregnancy body mass and the number of previous live births. Neither particular physical activities nor their volume were found to influence delivery complications or the duration of the second stage of labor. However, physical activities such as aerobics, keep fit exercise, swimming, weight training and cycling were found to affect weight gain during pregnancy.
Conclusions: Results of this study confirms that current physical activity recommendations for healthy pregnant women are linked to no negative effects on either the delivery or the unborn baby.
Downloads
The works and papers that are published in this Journal are subject to the following terms:
1. The Publication Service of the University of Murcia (the publisher) has the Publication Rights (Copyright) to the published papers and works, and favors and permits the reusing of the same under the license indicated in point 2.
© Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Murcia, 2013
2. The papers and works are to be published in the digital edition of the Journal under the license Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No Comercial-Sin Obra Derivada 3.0 España (legal text). The copying, using, spreading, transmitting and publicly displaying of the papers, works or publication are permitted as long as: i) the authors and original sources (Journal, publisher and URL of the publication) are quoted; ii) it is not used for commercial benefit; iii) the existence and specifications of this users license are mentioned.
3. Conditions of Self-Archiving. It is permitted and encouraged that the authors spread electronically the pre-print (before printing) and/or post-print (the revised, evaluated and accepted) versions of their papers or works before their publication since this favors their circulation and early diffusion and therefore can help increase their citation and quotation, and also there reach through the academic community.
The works and papers that are published in this Journal are subject to the following terms:
1. The Publication Service of the University of Murcia (the publisher) has the Publication Rights (Copyright) to the published papers and works, and favors and permits the reusing of the same under the license indicated in point 2.
© Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Murcia, 2013
2. The papers and works are to be published in the digital edition of the Journal under the license Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No Comercial-Sin Obra Derivada 3.0 España (legal text). The copying, using, spreading, transmitting and publicly displaying of the papers, works or publication are permitted as long as: i) the authors and original sources (Journal, publisher and URL of the publication) are quoted; ii) it is not used for commercial benefit; iii) the existence and specifications of this users license are mentioned.
3. Conditions of Self-Archiving. It is permitted and encouraged that the authors spread electronically the pre-print (before printing) and/or post-print (the revised, evaluated and accepted) versions of their papers or works before their publication since this favors their circulation and early diffusion and therefore can help increase their citation and quotation, and also there reach through the academic community.
