A prospective study of physical activity in full-term pregnant women and its effect on pregnancy outcomes

The effects of physical activity (PA), especially brisk walking, on labor outcomes and pregnancy health have not been clearly established. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between PA and cervical ripeness and pregnancy outcomes in term pregnant women.

A prospective cohort study was conducted with 52 pregnant women (30.7 ± 3.0 years old) at 37 weeks of gestation who wore accelerometers to measure PA until delivery. Their delivery outcomes and related clinical results were recorded. Participants were categorized into brisk walking ≥1 h group (AW group, n = 32) and brisk walking <1 h group (BW group, n = 20) according to whether their average daily brisk walking time exceeded 1 h. Independent samples t-tests were used to compare the differences between groups, while the correlations between brisk walking duration and cervical ripeness, and pregnancy outcomes were analyzed using multi-factor logistic regression.

(1) Full-term pregnant women had an average daily sedentary time exceeding 9 h in late pregnancy (AW group: 9.7 ± 1.1 h/d, BW group: 10.2 ± 1.3 h/d). (2) Compared with the BW group, the AW group had significantly higher moderate-intensity physical activity time (1.5 ± 0.5 vs. 0.8 ± 0.2 h/d, P < 0.001) and lower need for cervical ripening promotion (31.2 % vs. 50.0 %, P = 0.027). (3) Daily brisk walking duration was significantly and positively correlated with cervical ripening, with longer durations associated with more favorable cervical ripening (OR = 6.98, 95 % CI: 1.26-38.58, P = 0.026).

Brisk walking for ≥1 h per day in term pregnant women improves cervical ripening and reduces the need for artificial cervical ripening. These findings suggest that average daily brisk walking of at least 1 h before delivery may contribute to more favorable pregnancy outcomes in full-term pregnant women.