Moderate-intensity physical activity during pregnancy is known to be safe for the mother and foetus. Hypertension disorders in pregnancy (HDP), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are the most common medical complications of pregnancy, affecting up to 15% of pregnant women. Does physical activity reduce the risk for medical complications?
The study appeared in the Journal of Clinical Medicine in 2024.
This review article searched MEDLINE and Web of Science databases for recent studies (2004-2022) of the impact of prenatal physical activity on HDP or GDM. The search yielded 11 studies to review, seven of which were meta-analyses and the remainder were prospective cohorts or randomised trials.
Studies show that women randomised to aerobic exercise of 30-60 minutes duration for two to seven times per week (vs sedentary activity) have a significantly lower incidence of HDP (5.9% vs 8.5%; relative risk, 0.70). The evidence for a specific reduction of preeclampsia (one of the HDPs) indicates a physical activity benefit across six case-control studies (23% risk reduction, ie, odds ratio [OR], 0.77) and one randomised study (sixfold improvement, ie, OR, 6.34), but no benefit in prospective cohort studies.
Studies show about a 50% reduction in GDM (another one of the HDPs) with physical activity during pregnancy, and up to 76% reduction in GDM with more vigorous physical activity (≥ 4.2 h/wk). High-risk women (eg, pregnant women who are obese) benefitted from physical activity during pregnancy with a 31% reduction of GDM (relative risk, 0.69).
The authors concluded, physicians should encourage women to adopt a more active lifestyle during pregnancy.
