Beginning regular exercise in early pregnancy: Effect on fetoplacental growth

Objective: Our purpose was to test the null hypothesis that beginning regular, moderate-intensity exercise in early pregnancy has no effect on fetoplacental growth. Study Design: Forty-six women who did not exercise regularly were randomly assigned at 8 weeks either to no exercise (n = 24) or to wei...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of obstetrics and gynecology 2000-12, Vol.183 (6), p.1484-1488
Main Authors: Clapp, James F., Kim, Hyungjin, Burciu, Brindusa, Lopez, Beth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Birth Weight
Body Composition
Embryonic and Fetal Development
Exercise
Female
fetus
Fetus - physiology
growth
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Male
Management. Prenatal diagnosis
Medical sciences
placenta
Placenta - anatomy & histology
Placentation
Pregnancy
Pregnancy - physiology
Pregnancy Trimester, Second
Pregnancy. Fetus. Placenta
Weight Gain
Weight Lifting
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: Our purpose was to test the null hypothesis that beginning regular, moderate-intensity exercise in early pregnancy has no effect on fetoplacental growth. Study Design: Forty-six women who did not exercise regularly were randomly assigned at 8 weeks either to no exercise (n = 24) or to weight-bearing exercise (n = 22) 3 to 5 times a week for the remainder of pregnancy. Outcome variables included antenatal placental growth rate and neonatal and placental morphometric measurements. Results: The offspring of the exercising women were significantly heavier (corrected birth weight: 3.75 ± 0.08 kg vs 3.49 ± 0.07 kg) and longer (51.8 ± 0.3 cm vs 50.6 ± 0.3 cm) than those born to control women. The difference in birth weight was the result of an increase in both lean body mass and fat mass. In addition, midtrimester placental growth rate was faster (26 ± 2 cm3/wk vs 21 ± 1 cm3/wk) and morphometric indexes of placental function were greater in the exercise group. There were no significant differences in neonatal percentage body fat, head circumference, ponderal index, or maternal weight gain. Conclusions: These data indicate that beginning a moderate regimen of weight-bearing exercise in early pregnancy enhances fetoplacental growth. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2000;183:1484-8.)
ISSN:0002-9378
1097-6868
DOI:10.1067/mob.2000.107096