The influence of prenatal exercise modes on resting maternal blood lactate

Resting lactate concentration in venous blood is a commonly used indicator of metabolic disease risk. Regular exercise during pregnancy improves maternal metabolic health; however, it is unknown if maternal exercise regulates resting lactate concentration. We aimed to elucidate the effects of three different modalities of exercise during pregnancy on blood lactate in pregnant women. This is a secondary analysis of data from three blinded, prospective, randomized controlled trials. Pregnant women were randomized to control or exercise. Exercisers underwent ~24 weeks of supervised aerobic, resistance, or combination exercise between 12-16 and 37-40 weeks gestation. Fasted resting maternal blood lactate was collected at 16 and 36 weeks of gestation. Although lactate increased 0.5 mmol/L in controls across gestation, this rise was blunted in exercisers (p = 0.01). Pre-pregnancy BMI was correlated with blood lactate in controls (p < 0.05, R² = 0.20) but not in exercisers (p > 0.05, R² = 0.01). Exercisers with overweight or obesity had lower 36-week lactate (p = 0.001), particularly in aerobic and combination (p = 0.03; p = 0.006, respectively). These findings show that exercise helps control the BMI-associated rise in maternal lactate seen in gestation and highlights the importance of exercise in women with overweight or obesity.