Objectives To assess the effect and safety of moderate‐to‐vigorous resistance exercise during pregnancy. Design Randomized controlled study. Setting Two antenatal clinics in Gothenburg, Sweden. Population Ninety‐two healthy pregnant women. Methods The intervention was administered during gestational weeks 14–25. The intervention group received supervised resistance exercise twice a week, performed at an activity level equivalent to within moderate‐to‐vigorous (n = 51). The control group received generalized exercise recommendation, a home‐based training program and a telephone follow up (n = 41). Main outcome measures Health‐related quality of life, physical strength, pain, weight, blood pressure, functional status, activity level, and perinatal data. Results Functional status deteriorated during the intervention in both groups and pain increased. Significant differences between the groups were obtained only for birthweight. Newborns delivered by women who underwent resistance exercise during pregnancy were significantly heavier than those born to control women; 3561 (±452) g vs. 3251 (±437) g (p = 0.02), a difference that disappeared when adjustment was made for gestational age (p = 0.059). Both groups showed normal health‐related quality of life, blood pressure, and perinatal data. Conclusions These findings indicate that supervised, moderate‐to‐vigorous resistance exercise does not jeopardize the health status of healthy pregnant women or the fetus during pregnancy, but instead appears to be an appropriate form of exercise in healthy pregnancy.

Pregnant women strived to exercise if the exercise facilitators outweighed the barriers. As the study described facilitators, barriers, and strategies for how to overcome exercise barriers, the results can be useful in exercise promotion in healthy pregnancy.

Maternal hemodynamic responses were essentially the same, regardless of whether the exercise was submaximal aerobic or resistance exercise, although resistance exercise was perceived as more intense. Aerobic and resistance exercise corresponding to "somewhat hard" seems to have no adverse effect with regard to maternal hemodynamic responses in healthy pregnancy.

Background Although an increased inter-recti distance, also known as diastasis recti, is common after pregnancy, evidence-based knowledge about the condition is relatively limited. In particular, little is known about the consequences as perceived by the women. The objective of the present study was to describe how postpartum women with increased inter-recti distance experience the condition as well as the contacts they have had with healthcare providers regarding their symptoms. Methods A purposeful sampling approach was used to recruit 19 participants from an existing study cohort of 144 women. All participants had an inter-recti distance of at least two finger widths and at least one child, with the youngest child between the ages of 1 and 6 years. Individual interviews based on a semi-structured interview guide were performed and subsequently analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results Four categories emerged from the interviews: the body’s function and ability has changed; the body does not look like it used to; uncomprehending attitudes and treatment in their surroundings; and trying to acquire an understanding of and strategies to cope with the diastasis. The findings reveal that women with increased inter-recti distance might experience fear of movement and engage in avoidance behaviour. In combination with feelings of physical instability in the midsection of their bodies and body dissatisfaction, many of the women restrict their everyday lives and physical activities. Conclusions The findings indicate that increased inter-recti distance is a complex phenomenon that affects the women in a multitude of ways, highlighting the importance of considering the condition for each individual in her own context from a biopsychosocial perspective.