Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2011 Sep 30:11:66.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2393-11-66.

Exercise in pregnant women and birth weight: a randomized controlled trial

Lene A H Haakstad  1 , Kari Bø
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Exercise in pregnant women and birth weight: a randomized controlled trial

Lene A H Haakstad et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Background: Birth weight plays an important role in infant mortality and morbidity, childhood development, and adult health. To date there are contradictory results regarding the role of physical activity on birth weight. In addition, it is questioned whether exercise during second and third trimesters of pregnancy might affect gestational age and increase the risk of preterm delivery. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a supervised exercise-program on birth weight, gestational age at delivery and Apgar-score.

Methods: Sedentary, nulliparous pregnant women (N = 105), mean age 30.7 ± 4.0 years, pre-pregnancy BMI 23.8 ± 4.3 were randomized to either an exercise group (EG, n = 52) or a control group (CG, n = 53). The exercise program consisted of supervised aerobic dance and strength training for 60 minutes, twice per week for a minimum of 12 weeks, with an additional 30 minutes of self-imposed physical activity on the non-supervised week-days.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference between groups in mean birth weight, low birth weight (< 2500 g) or macrosomia (≥ 4000 g). Per protocol analyses showed higher Apgar score (1 min) in the EG compared with the CG (p = 0.02). No difference was seen in length of gestation.

Conclusion: Aerobic-dance exercise was not associated with reduction in birth weight, preterm birth rate or neonatal well-being.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00617149.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trial profile showing the flow of participants through the randomized controlled trial.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. ACOG. Committee opinion. Number 267, January 2002: Exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Obstet Gynecol. 2002;99:171–3. doi: 10.1016/S0029-7844(01)01749-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Exercise in Pregnancy RCOG Statement NO 4. 2006. 2009. http://www.rcog.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1366.
    1. Olson D, Sikka RS, Hayman J, Novak M, Stavig C. Exercise in pregnancy. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2009;8(3):147–53. - PubMed
    1. Wolfe LA, Davies GA. Canadian guidelines for exercise in pregnancy. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2003;46(2):488–95. doi: 10.1097/00003081-200306000-00027. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kramer MS, McDonald SW. Aerobic exercise for women during pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006;3:CD000180. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data