The benefits of exercise during pregnancy

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/tju-tbo070716.php

Public Release: 7-Jul-2016
The benefits of exercise during pregnancy
Women who exercise during pregnancy are more likely to deliver vaginally than those who do not, and show no greater risk of preterm birth.
Thomas Jefferson University

Researchers collected and re-examined clinical trial data on exercise during pregnancy and whether it plays a role in preterm birth, and found that exercise is safe and does not increase the risk of preterm birth. In addition, women who exercised were less likely to have a C-section than those who did not. The study was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

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The researchers found that there was no significant increase in preterm birth, defined as delivery before 37 weeks, in women who exercised than in those who did not. There were, however, a few benefits. Women who exercised were more likely to deliver vaginally - 73 percent of exercising women delivered vaginally whereas 67 percent of non-exercising women delivered vaginally. Likewise, there was a lower incidence of C-section in women who exercised during pregnancy - 17 percent of exercising women had a C-section versus 22 percent in those who did not. There was also lower incidence of gestational diabetes, and lower rates of high blood pressure in the exercising group.

All of the women included in this analysis were carrying a single baby (not twins), had normal weight to start with, and had no health conditions that prevented them from exercising.

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