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Author Spotlight: Enhancing the Offspring Health in Rats with Maternal Exercise During Pregnancy
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Author Spotlight: Enhancing the Offspring Health in Rats with Maternal Exercise During Pregnancy

Published on: April 5, 2024

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Influence of Physical Activity during Pregnancy on Neonatal Complications: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cristina Silva-Jose1, Linda May2, Miguel Sánchez-Polán1

  • 1AFIPE Research Group, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences-INEF, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.

Journal of Personalized Medicine
|January 26, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Physical activity during pregnancy can reduce newborn hospitalizations in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). This intervention also improves Apgar scores, indicating better neonatal health outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Neonatal Health
  • Public Health Interventions

Background:

  • Newborn hospitalizations signal poor neonatal health and potential long-term risks.
  • Promoting a healthy maternal environment during pregnancy is crucial for infant well-being.
  • Physical activity is a key intervention explored for improving pregnancy and neonatal outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and meta-analyze the impact of physical activity during pregnancy on neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions.
  • To evaluate the effect of maternal physical activity on Apgar 1 and 5 scores.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review and meta-analysis.
  • Inclusion of 50 studies encompassing 11,492 pregnant women.
  • Statistical analysis of NICU admission rates and Apgar scores between intervention and control groups.

Main Results:

  • Significantly lower NICU admission rates in groups with physical activity interventions (RR = 0.76, p = 0.008).
  • Improved Apgar 1 scores (MD = 0.08, p = 0.04) and Apgar 5 scores (MD = 0.09, p = 0.002) favoring intervention groups.
  • Low heterogeneity observed for NICU admissions (I2 = 0%), indicating consistent results.

Conclusions:

  • Physical activity during pregnancy is associated with a reduced risk of NICU admissions.
  • Maternal physical activity positively influences neonatal health, as evidenced by improved Apgar scores.
  • Encouraging physical activity in pregnancy can mitigate risks related to neonatal complications.

Keywords:
NICUcomplicationsneonatalphysical activitypregnancy

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