Neurodevelopmental outcome in 7‐year‐old children is not affected by exercise during pregnancy: follow up of a multicentre randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Objective To investigate whether regular moderate intensity exercise during pregnancy had adverse effect on neurodevelopment of offspring at 7 years of age. Design Follow up of a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Setting St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital and Stavanger University Hospital, Norway (2007–09). Population Women randomised to follow a 12‐week structured exercise protocol or standard antenatal care during pregnancy. Methods At 7 years of age, neurodevelopmental outcome was assessed by the parent questionnaire Five‐To‐Fifteen (FTF), including motor skills, executive functions, perception, memory, language, social skills and possible emotional/behavioural problems. Main outcome measure Continuous and dichotomised (cut‐off 90th centile) FTF scores. Results A total of 855 women were randomised to exercise (n = 429) or standard antenatal care (n = 426) during pregnancy. At follow up, 164 (38.2%) children born to mothers in the intervention group and 115 (27.0%) children born to mothers in the control group participated. We found no group differences in FTF scores or in the proportion of children with scores ≥90th centile. Stratified analyses by sex, subgroup analyses of women who adhered to the exercise protocol or sensitivity analyses excluding preterm children and/or children who had been admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit did not change the results. Conclusions In the present randomised controlled trial follow‐up study, regular moderate intensity exercise during pregnancy did not have adverse effect on neurodevelopment of offspring at 7 years of age. Tweetable abstract Moderate intensity exercise during pregnancy had no adverse effect on neurodevelopment of offspring at 7 years of age.

Maternal Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity across Pregnancy and Early Childhood Motor Development

“…Few studies have examined the association between maternal MVPA in pregnancy and child motor development. Of the existing studies, measurement of developmental skills varies greatly, including cognitive, language, motor, and intelligence domains, making it difficult to compare findings [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 29 ]. In one observational cohort study, most similar to our study, and including 528 pregnant women, maternal leisure time physical activity was self-reported in each trimester and development was measured using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development in children at 1- and 2-year follow-up.…”

“…This study then compared the developmental scores of children (intervention: n = 164, control: n = 115) at 7 years of age using the ‘Five-to-Fifteen’ motor development questionnaire. No differences were found in fine or gross motor score domains in children born to mothers in the intervention compared to the control groups [ 18 ]. Another randomized controlled trial which also included one in-person and two at-home 45 min sessions per week but limited to aerobic exercise only (intervention: n = 188, control n = 148), measured development using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development in children at 18 months old and also found no significant differences in overall motor development scores between intervention and control groups.…”

“…Though the activity profile during pregnancy is plausibly associated with early childhood motor development, research investigating this relationship is extremely limited by the use of self-reported maternal MVPA, failure to examine maternal SED, or study designs that only capture late pregnancy activity. Further, available studies have produced mixed findings [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. This is an important research gap as maternal activity during pregnancy is a modifiable behavior that could potentially improve short- and long-term offspring health.…”

Body mass index and physical activity in seven-year-old children whose mothers exercised during pregnancy: follow-up of a multicentre randomised controlled trial

“…Pregnancy outcome and newborn data were registered at time of delivery [ 25 ]. The children were clinically assessed at 18 months of age [ 10 ] and by parent-report at 7 years of age [ 11 ].…”

“…We have previously reported that exercise in pregnancy is safe [ 25 ], and does not have adverse effects on the child’s neurodevelopment at 18 months [ 10 ] or 7 years of age [ 11 ]. In the current study, our primary aim was to investigate whether an exercise intervention during pregnancy affected BMI and PA of the children at 7 years of age.…”