Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (PTGiP) and Polish Society of Sports Medicine (PTMS) recommendations on physical activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period

New Public Health and Sport Medicine Institutions Guidelines of Physical Activity Intensity for Pregnancy—A Scoping Review

“…A systematic search of public health and sports medicine institutions’ guidelines for pregnancy identified a total of 929 papers for evaluation. After further exclusion (the rejection criteria are included in Table 1 ) and removing duplicates and papers irrelevant to the selected topic, 16 papers were selected for data charting [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. Based on the reference lists presented in these papers, an additional six studies were included [ 30 , 31 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

“…Among the twenty-two guidelines reviewed for physical activity in pregnant women, the one issued by Portugal lacked any details regarding the intensity of the physical activity [ 36 ]. According to the remaining twenty-one, a pregnant woman should exercise at moderate intensity [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. Ten recommendations included information on vigorous or high intensity [ 26 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 33 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 43 , 44 ].…”

“…According to the remaining twenty-one, a pregnant woman should exercise at moderate intensity [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. Ten recommendations included information on vigorous or high intensity [ 26 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 33 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 43 , 44 ]. Three guidelines recommend PA intensity at the same level as before pregnancy [ 31 , 40 , 45 ].…”

“…In contrast, three guidelines [ 43 , 44 , 45 ] suggested an alternative approach. They indicated that women who have a background in regular exercise may continue with high-intensity physical activities if the pregnancy is progressing healthily and they undergo consistent monitoring [ 43 ].…”

“…In contrast, three guidelines [ 43 , 44 , 45 ] suggested an alternative approach. They indicated that women who have a background in regular exercise may continue with high-intensity physical activities if the pregnancy is progressing healthily and they undergo consistent monitoring [ 43 ]. For those women with a higher level of fitness who are accustomed to regular vigorous exercises, a rating of 15–16 of the Borg PRE scale (equating to “hard”) may be appropriate [ 44 ], and in the third trimester, no more than three sessions per week of vigorous exercise are recommended [ 45 ].…”