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Author Spotlight: Enhancing the Offspring Health in Rats with Maternal Exercise During Pregnancy
Published on: April 5, 2024
The association of physical activity during pregnancy with birthweight extremes: A scoping review
Grace Emma Watt1, Madeline E Hubbard2, Michelle F Mottola3
1R. Samuel McLaughlin Foundation - Exercise and Pregnancy Lab, University of Western Ontario, Canada; School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, Canada.
Insights
Prenatal physical activity (PA) does not increase the risk of low birthweight (LBW) or small for gestational age (SGA) infants. However, regular exercise during pregnancy may reduce the incidence of large birthweight (LBW) infants.
Area of Science:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Birthweight (BW) is a critical indicator of newborn health and a predictor of future chronic disease risk.
- Understanding factors influencing BW extremes is crucial for maternal and child well-being.
- Prenatal physical activity (PA) is a modifiable behavior with potential impacts on pregnancy outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of prenatal physical activity (PA) on birthweight (BW) extremes.
- To examine how PA affects BW extremes, particularly in pregnancies complicated by maternal diseases.
- To synthesize existing evidence through a scoping review.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive scoping review was conducted.
- Searches across five major databases identified relevant studies.
- Data from 69 selected studies were analyzed to assess the relationship between prenatal PA and BW extremes.
Main Results:
- The majority of studies (69%) found no significant impact of prenatal PA on low birthweight (LBW) or small for gestational age (SGA) infants.
- A notable percentage of studies (34%) indicated that PA significantly reduced the prevalence of large for gestational age (LGA) or macrosomic infants.
- One study highlighted that adherence to exercise recommendations lowered LGA odds in women with pregnancy-related conditions.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal physical activity (PA) is not associated with an increased risk of LBW/SGA infants.
- Evidence suggests that PA during pregnancy may be effective in reducing the incidence of large birthweight (LBW) infants.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these associations.
Objectives:
Birthweight (BW) indicates newborn health and is a risk factor for development of chronic diseases later in life. The aim was to investigate whether or not prenatal physical activity (PA) influences BW extremes and how PA influences BW extremes in those diagnosed with pregnancy-related diseases.
Design:
We performed a scoping review.
Methods:
Searches were completed on five databases and studies identified were uploaded to Covidence.
Results:
Across the five databases 3114 studies were identified and after screening, 69 of these studies were used for the final review. Of the 61 studies that considered low BW (LBW)/small for gestational age (SGA) infants, the majority of results (69 %) indicated that PA during pregnancy had no significant impact on LBW or SGA infants. In addition, 11 % of studies reported a significant decrease in the prevalence of LBW infants, however two studies (3 %) reported a significant increase in LBW or SGA infants, likely relating to individuals with high body mass index and poor adherence to PA. Of the 41 studies that did report LGA/macrosomia, 34 % reported that PA significantly reduced the prevalence of higher BW infants. One study reported the association between meeting exercise recommendations and reducing the odds of LGA infants in those with pregnancy-related diseases.
Conclusions:
We provide evidence on the association of prenatal PA with BW extremes. It is suggested that prenatal PA does not increase the risk of delivering LBW/SGA infants and may reduce the prevalence of large BW infants. Further research is needed to confirm these relationships and explain their underlying mechanisms.
