How physical activity during pregnancy affects mother and baby

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Everyone wants their children to grow up smart and healthy, and they try to instill the right habits almost from birth. However, as it turned out, from birth is not the limit! The foundation for a love of healthy lifestyles and sports can be laid much earlier. Recent studies have shown that a love of exercise can be instilled in a baby even before birth if the mother continues to be physically active during pregnancy.

The latest study, published in Baylor College of Medicine, says running during pregnancy has a positive effect on baby's development and may later give him a sports-related advantage over other babies whose mothers were less active. position. The experiment was carried out on mice. In the course of it, it was proved that active pregnant females gave birth to faster and healthier mice.

Robert A. Waterland, professor of pediatrics and genetics and author of this study, believes this is true for pregnant women as well.

Research shows that training a mother during pregnancy can lead to the birth of a more physically active individual. Moreover, this activity will persist throughout life.

The mice in the study had to run of their own accord, without being forced to be physically active. All pregnant females were genetically identical. Before getting pregnant, each of them ran 10 kilometers in the wheel every day of their own free will, that is, the mice just liked to run in the wheel for days on end.

Then the animals were divided into two groups. In one, the running wheels were blocked (that is, physical activity was artificially limited), the second group still had access to this entertainment.

Waterland and his team monitored the exercise of expectant mothers, and then studied their offspring's habits, weight, and development as they grew. As a result, the offspring of mice that had unrestricted access to the treadmills were 50% more active than the offspring of mice in the group with limited activity.

In the future, Professor Waterland hopes to get the same results in human studies, but at the moment this is quite difficult for ethical reasons. However, the benefits of physical activity for pregnant women, if there are no special prescriptions from a doctor, have long been proven, and running is no exception.

For example, a study published back in 2009 in the Maternal And Child Health Journal showed that women who continued to exercise regularly during pregnancy gained much less weight than those who stopped exercising altogether or did it only sporadically (35, 8% against 51, 5% and 80%).

Physical activity during pregnancy can help you stay within the recommended weight, making not only the mother healthier, but also the baby. Study co-author Jihong Liu advises healthy pregnant women to practice walking, jogging, swimming, and low-impact aerobics.

Another study from 2012 also showed the benefits of exercise for expectant mothers. Pregnant women who had not previously played sports were divided into two groups for about 12-14 weeks. Some of them did not start training, and some did four times a week for 45-60 minutes. The program included mountain walks, cardio training, step aerobics, and light weight strength training. Classes continued until the 36th week of pregnancy.

As a result, the participants in the second group were physically stronger and more resilient compared to those who did not exercise, and also had better medical indicators: only two cesarean sections versus ten. And as a bonus - faster recovery and return to prenatal fitness.

Once again, we want to remind that expectant mothers first need to undergo a medical examination. It is also recommended to reduce activity in the first and last trimesters. And it is advisable to practice under the supervision of a qualified trainer!