Adherence to ACOG Guidelines on Exercise During Pregnancy: Effect on Pregnancy Outcome

Physical exercise during pregnancy and its influence in the type of birth

“…A greater chance of having vaginal deliveries among pregnant women who engage in physical activity during gestation is one of the possible benefits of this effort (9)(10)(11) . In the sample studied, a larger number of vaginal deliveries were noted in those who participated in the EG relative to those who remained sedentary.…”

“…The reason for this difference might have been the fact that, in the present study, the pregnant women received classes before the exercise sessions that valued vaginal birth, and it may be that these repeated classes (although this was not the objective of this project) in some way influenced the decision as to mode of delivery, which would be a characteristic different from other works in literature. Another study that evaluated physical exercise during gestation and its influence on the type of delivery was carried out by Zeanah & Schlosser (11) , in which the pregnant women who exercised with low and medium intensity had more vaginal deliveries. The result of that study agrees with that found in this present study.…”

“…Some studies also showed that the number of cesarean sections increases in the richest regions and is directly related to a higher level of education and to prenatal visits (2) . Several proposals have been made to try to change this scenario, and one of them is the regular participation of pregnant women in physical activities during gestation, which seems to be associated with a smaller rate of cesarean sections in nulliparous women (9)(10)(11) . The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) recommends the practice of 30 minutes of daily exercise, of moderate intensity, for pregnant women with no clinical or obstetric complications (12,13) .…”

“…It is necessary to point out, however, that high intensity exercises should be avoided during this period (21) , since at this level there is an increased risk of spontaneous abortion (14) and premature labor (17) , as well as transient fetal bradycardia after intense physical activity (22) , restriction of fetal growth (12) , and greater chance of low birthweight (13) . On the other hand, moderate physical activity seems to be safe for the mother and fetus and can be done, as long as there are no contraindications (10)(11)(12)14,18) . Considering the growing number of cesarean births and, on the other hand, the possibility of regular physical activity contributing to a greater chance of natural deliveries, besides the safety that regular medium intensity physical exercise affords the mother-child pair, this study was proposed.…”

Exposure Analysis Methods Impact Associations between Maternal Physical Activity and Cesarean Delivery

“…9 Twenty-four previous studies have examined the association between PA or exercise during pregnancy and risk or odds of cesarean. Reported effect estimates are not consistent across studies, with the slightly more than half reporting a decreased risk [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] of cesarean with higher levels of PA or exercise, but with a sizeable minority reporting no effect 10,[12][13][14] , an increased risk [15][16][17]19 , decreased risk in one subgroup only 11 , or decreased risk of elective/planned cesareans but increased risk of urgent/emergent surgeries. 18 Several methodological issues arise when examining the body of work on this issue, as has similarly been observed in other studies of PA during pregnancy.…”