Effect of prenatal aerobic exercises on maternal and neonatal outcomes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Pregnancy is among the most sensitive and important stages in the life of parents, and childbirth is an important event in a woman's life. The duration of labour varies in different women and is affected by factors such as age, parity, foetal size and maternal weight (Chen et al., 2018).A prolonged first stage of labour entails complications such as compressed foetal head in the birth canal, lower neonatal Apgar score and foetal death (Allen et al., 2007). A prolonged second stage of labour is associated with increased frequency of caesarean section, tearing of the birth canal and damage to the perineal muscles (Brown et al., 2011). Moreover, a prolonged delivery is also associated with many other maternal complications such as uterine atony and increased maternal mortality, and foetal complications such as foetal distress and reduced foetal Apgar score (Direkvand-Moghadam & Rezaeian, 2012). Given that maternal and neonatal complications increase with the duration

Physical activity and pregnancy related health outcomes in overweight and obese pregnant women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…However, both studies also mentioned that physical activity during pregnancy did not adversely affect the gestation period and cause premature delivery. The results of the current study on birth weight are also consistent with studies by da Silva et al [25], Veisy et al [33], and Du et al [23], where there was no significant evidence observed in both groups that show the effect of physical exercise on neonatal birth weight. Evidence on the roles of exercise in maintaining an optimum gestational age and birth weight at delivery is limited and inconclusive in most studies, hence makes it difficult to draw a clear conclusion on the matter.…”

“…The present study does not found any significant results for gestational age and birth weight between both groups (P=0.83 and P=0.29, respectively). The results were consistent with other meta-analyses on gestational age at delivery conducted by Gema Sanabria-Martínez et al [32] and Veisy et al [33]. Both authors found no significant differences in terms of gestational age at delivery for the exercise intervention group and control group with P=0.284 and P=0.72 respectively.…”

Determining the childbirth stories of women doing prenatal pilates and their views on the advantages of pilates

“…In addition, regarding the advantages of Pilates in prenatal period; majority of the women (82.5%) stated that it helped them have a more flexible and active pregnancy. A systematic review and meta-analysis study by Veisy et al showed that prenatal exercise can reduce the frequency of caesarean section (22). In this study, majority of the women who had had vaginal delivery (52.5%) indicated that Pilates facilitated vaginal delivery.…”

Relationship between Physical Activity and the Metabolic, Inflammatory Axis in Pregnant Participants

“…The prenatal maternal body mass index (BMI) was calculated using the following formula: body weight (kg)/(body height (m)) 2 . Weight changes during pregnancy were generated from participant medical files and were computed using the difference between the weight measured at the most recent pregnancy medical check-up during pregnancy and the weight before gestation.…”

“…The benefits associated with physical activity during pregnancy for both maternal and new-born health are supported by research [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. For example, regular physical activity during pregnancy has been linked to reduced risk of weight gain [ 5 ], hypertension [ 6 ], diabetes [ 5 , 6 ], back pain [ 7 ], mood disorders [ 8 , 9 ], large for gestational age [ 3 ], premature birth [ 3 ], and caesarean sections [ 2 ]. In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines [ 10 ].…”