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. 2019 Jun;51(6):1292-1302.
doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001941.

Benefits of Physical Activity during Pregnancy and Postpartum: An Umbrella Review

Loretta Dipietro  1 , Kelly R Evenson  2 , Bonny Bloodgood  3 , Kyle Sprow  4 , Richard P Troiano  4 , Katrina L Piercy  5 , Alison Vaux-Bjerke  5 , Kenneth E Powell  6 ; 2018 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GUIDELINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE*
Affiliations

Benefits of Physical Activity during Pregnancy and Postpartum: An Umbrella Review

Loretta Dipietro et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to summarize the evidence from the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report, including new evidence from an updated search of the effects of physical activity on maternal health during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods: An initial search was undertaken to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between 2006 and 2016. An updated search then identified additional systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between January 2017 and February 2018. The searches were conducted in PubMed®, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library and supplemented through hand searches of reference lists of included articles and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Results: The original and updated searches yielded a total of 76 systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Strong evidence demonstrated that moderate-intensity physical activity reduced the risk of excessive gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes, and symptoms of postpartum depression. Limited evidence suggested an inverse relationship between physical activity and risk of preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and antenatal anxiety and depressive symptomology. Insufficient evidence was available to determine the effect of physical activity on postpartum weight loss, postpartum anxiety, and affect during both pregnancy and postpartum. For all health outcomes, there was insufficient evidence to determine whether the relationships varied by age, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or prepregnancy weight status.

Conclusions: The gestational period is an opportunity to promote positive health behaviors that can have both short- and long-term benefits for the mother. Given the low prevalence of physical activity in young women in general, and the high prevalence of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases among the U.S. population, the public health importance of increasing physical activity in women of childbearing age before, during, and after pregnancy is substantial.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding

The results of this study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation. The Committee’s work was supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Committee members were reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses for the five public meetings; Committee members volunteered their time. The authors report no other potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1. -
Figure 1. -
Flow diagram of search strategy and study selection for both the initial 2018 PAGAC Scientific Report and the updated search. *denotes articles from the updated search.
Figure 2. –
Figure 2. –
The dose-response relationship between pre-pregnancy physical activity and risk of preeclampsia. The results indicate a 28% lower risk of preeclampsia for each 1 hour/day increment in activity, compared with no activity (OR=0.72; 95% CI: 0.53 to 0.99). Adapted with permission. [Aune D, Saugstad OD, Henriksen T, Tonstad S. Physical activity and the risk of preeclampsia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Epidemiology. 2014;25(3):331-343.]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Website. Available at: https://www.acog.org/Clinical-Guidance-and-Publications/Committee-Opinio....
    1. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Washington, DC: US: Department of Health and Human Services; 2008.
    1. Rich-Edwards JW, Fraser A, Lawlor DA, Catov JM. Pregnancy characteristics and women’s future cardiovascular health: an underused opportunity to improve women’s health? Epidemiol Rev. 2014;36:57–70. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Blaize AN, Pearson KJ, and Newcomer SC. Impact of maternal exercise during pregnancy on offspring chronic disease susceptibility. Exerc Sports Sci Rev. 2015; 43: 198–203. - PMC - PubMed

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