Fetal cardiotocography before and after water aerobics during pregnancy

To evaluate the effect of moderate aerobic physical activity in water on fetal cardiotocography patterns in sedentary pregnant women. In a non-randomized controlled trial, 133 previously sedentary pregnant women participated in multiple regular sessions of water aerobics in a heated swimming pool. C...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reproductive health 2010-08, Vol.7 (1), p.23-23, Article 23
Main Authors: Silveira, Carla, Pereira, Belmiro G, Cecatti, Jose G, Cavalcante, Sergio R, Pereira, Rosa I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerobic exercises
Data collection
Fetus
Health care
Heart beat
Heart rate
Hypertension
Management
Measurement
Medical examination
Methods
Physical fitness
Physiological aspects
Pregnancy
Pregnant women
Reproductive health
Womens health
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Summary:To evaluate the effect of moderate aerobic physical activity in water on fetal cardiotocography patterns in sedentary pregnant women. In a non-randomized controlled trial, 133 previously sedentary pregnant women participated in multiple regular sessions of water aerobics in a heated swimming pool. Cardiotocography was performed for 20 minutes before and just after the oriented exercise. Cardiotocography patterns were analyzed pre- and post-exercise according to gestational age groups (24-27, 28-31, 32-35 and 36-40 weeks). Student's t and Wilcoxon, and McNemar tests were used, respectively, to analyze numerical and categorical variables. No significant variations were found between pre- and post-exercise values of fetal heart rate (FHR), number of fetal body movements (FM) or accelerations (A), FM/A ratio or the presence of decelerations. Variability in FHR was significantly higher following exercise only in pregnancies of 24-27 weeks. Moderate physical activity in water was not associated with any significant alterations in fetal cardiotocography patterns, which suggests no adverse effect on the fetus.
ISSN:1742-4755
1742-4755
DOI:10.1186/1742-4755-7-23