Type of delivery and gestational age is not affected by pregnant latin-american women engaging in vigorous exercise. a secondary analysis of data from a controlled randomized trial

Objective There is controversy concerning whether exercise during pregnancy may increase preterm delivery risk and type of delivery. The effect of pregnant Latin-American women engaging in vigorous exercise during the second and third trimester was examined regarding type of delivery and gestational age.Materials and Methods This was a secondary analysis of data from a controlled randomized trial for determining the influence of physical exercise on pregnant women’s endothelial function. The study included 35 nulliparous women, gestational week 16-20 attending prenatal care at three tertiary hospitals in Colombia, who were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The experimental group engaged in aerobic exercise involving 55 % - 75 % maximum heart rate for 60 min, three times a week for 12 weeks. The control group engaged in their usual physical activity. Maternal weight, height, weight gain, blood pressure and type of delivery were recorded; gender, abdominal and head circumference (cm), weight (g), height (cm), vitality (Apgar score at 1 and 5 min) and gestational age at the time of delivery (in weeks, days) were recorded for the newborn.Results There was no difference in type of delivery by the end of the 12-week program (p and gt;0.05), nor regarding newborn anthropometric variables, Apgar score, or maternal variables concerning weight, height, relative weight gain, blood pressure or weeks of gestation (p and gt;0.05).Conclusion The potential public health benefits of vigorous exercise wereenormous. This study supported existing guidelines indicating that Latin-Americanwomen may begin or maintain an on-going exercise program during pregnancy.Key Words: Gestational age, exercise, pregnancy, clinical trial (source: MeSH,NLM).

• Autores: Ramírez-Vélez, Robinson; Pinzon, Diana C; Zamora, Katherine; Martínez, Jorge H.; Floréz López, María E.; Aguilar de Plata, Ana C.; Mosquera, Mildrey
• Tipo de recurso: Article of journal
• Fecha de publicación: 2012
• Institución: Universidad Nacional de Colombia
• Repositorio: Universidad Nacional de Colombia
• Idioma: spa
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.unal.edu.co:unal/33620
• Acceso en línea: https://repositorio.unal.edu.co/handle/unal/33620; http://bdigital.unal.edu.co/23700/
• Palabra clave: Gestational age; exercise; pregnancy; clinical trial (source: MeSH; NLM).
• Rights: openAccess
• License: Atribución-NoComercial 4.0 Internacional