Benefits of Exercise During Pregnancy

Abstract

There is a direct link between healthy mothers and healthy infants. Exercise and appropriate nutrition are important contributors to maternal physical and psychological health. The benefits and potential risks of exercise during pregnancy have gained even more attention, with a number of studies having been published after the 2002 American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists guidelines. A review of the literature was conducted by using PubMed, Scopus, and Embase to assess the literature regarding the benefits of exercise during pregnancy. The search revealed 219 publications, which the authors then narrowed to 125 publications. The purpose of this review is to briefly summarize the known benefits of exercise to the mother, fetus, and newborn.

Body Satisfaction During Pregnancy: The Role of Health-Related Habit Strength

“…Given past research indicating that exercise is positively associated with body satisfaction during pregnancy (Boscaglia et al, 2003;Goodwin et al, 2000;Prather et al, 2012;Symons Downs et al, 2008), it is somewhat surprising that physical activity habit strength did not protect women against declines in body satisfaction. This may be because the current sample exhibited a restricted range of physical activity habit strength, which may have decreased the chances of detecting an association between physical activity habit strength and body satisfaction.…”

“…Several studies indicate that regular exercise and positive dietary behaviours are related to body satisfaction in pregnant women (Boscaglia, Skouteris, & Wertheim, 2003;Crow, Agras, Crosby, Halmi & Mitchell, 2008;Goodwin, Astbury, & McKeeken, 2000;Prather, Spitznagle, & Hunt, 2012). Repetition of health behaviours is particularly important, as it forms the basis of habits, which can be defined as "learned sequences of acts that have become automatic" (Verplanken & Aarts, 1999, p. 104).…”

“…Whereas less frequent behaviours require the use of conscious mental resources, repeated and frequent behaviour becomes habitual, which requires less mental effort and may be less influenced by conscious attitudes and intentions (Ji & Wood, 2007;Ouellette & Wood, 1998). The extent to which women automatically engage in physical activity and healthy eating behaviours during pregnancy may be particularly important to assess given that the numerous changes women experience affect cognition and behaviour, which in turn can affect frequency of health behaviours and adversely impact body satisfaction (FullerTyskiewicz et al, 2012;Prather et al, 2012;Skouteris, 2011). However, no study to date has investigated the potentially pertinent relationship between healthy eating or physical activity habits and body satisfaction.…”

Effects of Exercise During Pregnancy on Maternal Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability

“…Exercise during pregnancy is safe for the mother, fetus, and child [25][26][27][28]. Maternal exercise during pregnancy can improve cardiovascular function in women during pregnancy without adverse effects on fetal growth [27][28][29]. For example, research has shown that pregnant women who exercise have a lower HR at rest and during exercise, increased stroke volume, and increased oxygen uptake [27,28].…”

Questionnaire to assess the knowledge of health professionals about the leisure physical activities of pregnant women

“…The benefits of leisure physical activity for maternal [1][2][3][4] and fetal [5][6][7][8] outcomes are well documented in the literature. However, the level of leisure physical activities in pregnancy is low 5,7,[9][10][11] .…”