Exercising during pregnancy beneficial: Study

According to researchers, exercising throughout the nine months of pregnancy can have great health benefits for both mother and baby.

Jonatan R. Ruiz, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Karolinska Institute, Sweden, stated, "An exercise regime carried out during the second and third trimester of pregnancy does not harm the health of the foetus.”

Study details
Researchers undertook a detailed study of 160 pregnant women aged between 25 and 35. Of these pregnant women, none exercised regularly nor did they have a risk of premature birth.

As a part of the study, half of the women agreed to take part in a supervised program, organized by the Gynecology and Obstetrics Unit of Hospital Severo Ochoa in Madrid, while the other half acted as the control group maintaining sedentary habits.

The investigators monitored the weight and size of the fetus of all pregnant women in the second and third trimester. Other factors like pre-pregnancy body weight , diabetes development during the pregnancy if any were also studied.

Observations by investigators
The researchers noted that women involved in the exercise regime gave birth to babies of a similar size as compared to the other women.

Ruiz stated, "Body size and gestational age, as well as other health parameters, were similar in the group of women who followed the exercise regime compared to those who did no form of physical activity during pregnancy, which indicates that exercise poses no threat to the health of the fetus.”

The researchers also observed a co-relation between the mother’s weight before pregnancy and the weight of the new born. The exercise program seemed to help overweight women in ensuring that they did not give birth to heavy babies.

"Sedentary mothers of higher pre-gestational weight gave birth to heavier newborns. This relationship, however, was not observed in the group of women who exercised during pregnancy", declared Ruiz.

The study appears in the International Journal of Obesity.

Other benefits of exercise during pregnancy
Exercising during pregnancy is known to make labor easier. It can relieve pregnancy related discomforts such as backaches, ankle swelling, and fatigue.

Moderate levels of exercise can strengthen and improve musculoskeletal and physiologic health.

Maintaining an exercise routine throughout pregnancy also reduces stress and can make a woman feel better about her changing body.