Lacewell 1

Alexis M. Lacewell
Dr. Bret Zawilski
RC 2001-410
20 November 2015
Exercise and Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a vital time of growth, development, and change for both mothers and their
unborn children. Mothers are particularly subject to experience significant changes in their
anatomy and physiology that stem from accommodating the needs of their growing fetuses.
Despite the accommodations the body makes during pregnancy, there are still a variety of health
complications that may arise and pose risks for both mothers and fetuses. Pregnant women may
become susceptible to cardiovascular disease and/or its associated risks, gestational diabetes,
preeclampsia, depression, specifically post-partum, and more. Exercise is a critical behavior that
can be modified to accompany pregnant women in order to sustain the increased demand on their
bodies, to maximize potential health benefits, and to minimize potential health complications.
The first United States guidelines for exercise during pregnancy were published in 1985
by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Until this time, only a
variety of cultural beliefs and practices influenced whether or not women participated in exercise
during pregnancy. For example, a commonly held belief that continues to persist among some
African American women is that if a pregnant woman raised her arms above the head, this
would lead to the umbilical cord getting wrapped around the fetal neck, and risk strangling the
fetus (Krans and Chang 1184). Cultural myths such as these inhibited and continue to inhibitalong with other factors-women from exercising during pregnancy. When ACOG published the

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1985 guidelines, the research revolving around exercise during pregnancy was in its beginning
phases; therefore, the guidelines were sparse and included more caution surrounding the issue.
Traditionally, pregnant women have been advised to restrict exercise due to concerns for the
health of the mother and her fetus, including risks of overheating; impaired delivery of oxygen
and nutrients to the fetus; and premature labour (qtd in Duncombe et al.). Exercise causes an
increase in body temperature which requires the body to work to regulate that temperature, or
maintain homeostasis. Increased temperatures that are unable to be regulated, or overheating, can
cause an extremely high temperature environment for a growing fetus that can negatively affect
growth and development, particularly that of the central nervous system. Exercise also requires a
source of oxygen and nutrients; the muscles and bones involved require minerals, such as
calcium, to enable and assist with movement. These same nutrients needed for exercise are also
necessary for developing fetuses, so it is thought that there may be a competition for resources.
However, this does not take into account the mothers diet, potential nutrient reserves, or the
ability for some nutrients to be recycled. Concerns such as overheating and impaired delivery or
nutrients and oxygen often lead to preterm labor, which is a fear of expecting mothers that often
ends in fetus mortality if the age of viability has not been reached. As exercise and pregnancy has
gained more recognition and research has progressed, these concerns remain valid in some cases,
but the research has leaned some in the opposite direction.
Despite earlier perceptions, more recent research has deemed exercise during pregnancy
safe and beneficial for both mothers and fetuses. Most sources, including ACOG, continuously
update their guidelines to include the type, intensity, frequency, and duration of exercise that
pregnant women should be participating in as more research becomes available. Even though
there are sources that discuss exercise during pregnancy, it is specifically tailored to the

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individual needs of the mother and should be discussed with and cleared and monitored by a
physician. During pregnancy, the goals are to maintain/increase fitness and avoid exertion that
could be harmful to mother or fetus (May 3). Understanding the goals of exercise during
pregnancy and following the guidelines and recommendations of the physician can allow
mothers and fetuses to maximize the health benefits associated with exercise.
Aerobic exercises are typically prescribed for women during pregnancy. The American
College of Sports Medicine refers to aerobic exercise as an activity that uses the large muscles of
the body in a continuous, rhythmical fashion, and that is relatively easy to maintain at a
consistent intensity (Franklin et al.). Aerobic exercises include, but are not limited to, walking,
biking, swimming and dancing. In general, aerobic exercises can reduce cardiovascular stress
caused by pregnancy (Genti et al.). Cardiovascular health is a significant component of
physiological well-being, yet cardiovascular disease is the most frequent cause of death during
pregnancy in the industrialized world (Tennant 31). Todays technology has allowed many
women to conceive later in life when their cardiovascular risk factors could potentially be
increasing. Aside from conception age, when women become pregnant, the demands on their
heart increase to accommodate the needs of the growing fetuses. It is important for women to be
able to sustain the increased demand on their heart from pregnancy, and aerobic exercise is a
critical behavior that can be modified to accompany women to sustaining the increased demand
on their heart. These exercises decrease resting heart rate and blood pressure, which allow the
heart to function without overworking itself. Resting heart rate and blood pressure indicate the
hearts workload while a person is inactive. Having a low resting heart rate and blood pressure
implies that your heart is functioning normally based off of the pressure in the walls of your
veins and arteries without overcompensating. On the other hand, a high resting heart rate and

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blood pressure implies that your heart is functioning normally, but may be working too hard at
rest. This extra work could potentially be indicative of pre-hypertension or hypertension, which
are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Pregnant women have to accommodate their heart rate
and blood pressure to that of their fetus, so their resting heart rates and blood pressures may
become higher. The increase in heart rate and blood pressure are normal as long as they do not
exceed a certain threshold. Aerobic exercise during pregnancy allows women to maintain a
relatively safe, stable resting heart rate and blood pressure, which decreases the risk for
hypertension and related cardiovascular risks and diseases.
Along with improving cardiovascular health and related risks, aerobic exercises is also
correlated with other pregnancy related benefits. Studies have demonstrated that
well-trained women managed the birth better, had a higher rate of vaginal deliveries or a
lower rate of caesarean sections and had more aerobic tness, muscular strength, reduced
time for the birth and reduced risk of childbirth complications. Moreover, trained women
recovered faster postpartum and had better prole of pregnancy-related medical
conditions such as high blood pressure and blood sugar than the women who did not train
(qtd in Kader and Naim-Shuchana 5).
Mothers pregnancy related benefits are connected to infants. In particular, the reduced risk of
childbirth complications and postpartum recovery are two areas where infants receive a
substantial amount of benefits. Childbirth complications can range from being breeched to
experiencing anoxia, an absence of oxygen, but overall, minimizing complications correlates
with better initial assessment scores. The Apgar score is an assessment performed on newborns
to assess their appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration. Each category is rated either
a zero, one, or two, and a high total score indicates fewer concerns about babies initial overall

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health. Altogether, babies with minimal birth complications and higher Apgar scores tend to have
more positive initial health outcomes that stem from their mothers participation in aerobic
exercise. Infants also benefit from their mothers postpartum recovery. A major concern after
pregnancy involves mothers emotional and psychological well-being. It is common for women
to experience the baby blues, but more persistent feelings of sadness are associated with
postpartum depression. Postpartum depression may directly affect mothers ability to care for
their children, and proper care during infancy is essential to positive continued development.
Mothers who exercise may recover quickly from the baby blues and have a reduced risk of
developing postpartum depression because exercise has been known to improve mood. Reduced
risk of postpartum depression due to aerobic exercise reduces the risk of infants receiving
insufficient care that may negatively impact their development.
Aerobic exercise is not the only type of exercise that has been researched and seen as a
having a positive effect on pregnancy and related outcomes. Resistance training or exercise is
becoming more common among researchers and being assessed to further discover its benefits
for pregnant women and fetuses. Resistance training is a form of physical activity that is
designed to improve muscular fitness by exercising a muscle or a muscle group against external
resistance (Resistance Training).

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Works Cited
Resistance Training for Health and Fitness. American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM, n.d.
Web.
Arizabaleta, Ana Victoria Montoya, et al. Aerobic Exercise during Pregnancy Improves HealthRelated Quality of Life: A Randomized Trial. Journal of Physiotherapy. 56.4 (2010):
253-258. Web.
Duncombe, Dianne, et al. Factors Related to Exercise Over the Course of Pregnancy Including
Women's Beliefs about the Safety of Exercise during Pregnancy. Midwifery. 25.4
(2009): 430-438. Web.
Franklin, Barry A., Gary J. Balady, Kathy Berra, Neil F. Gordon, and Michael L. Pollock.
ACSM Current Comment: Exercise for Persons with Cardiovascular Disease.
American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM, n.d. Web.
Genti, Maria, Vasilios Serbezis, and Georgios Mavridis. Aerobics and Pregnancy. Studies in
Physical Culture and Tourism. 16.4 (2009): 355-359. Web.
Kader, Manzur, and Saira Naim-Shuchana. Physical Activity and Exercise during Pregnancy.
European of Physiotherapy. 16.1 (2014): 2-9. Web.
Krans, Elizabeth E., and Judy C. Chang. Low-Income African American Womens Beliefs
Regarding Exercise during Pregnancy. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 16.6 (2012):
1180-1187. Web.
May, Linda E. Exercise During Pregnancy and Post-Partum. ACSM Fit Society Page. 16.3
(2014): 3-4. Web.

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Moyer, Carmen, Jeffrey Livingston, Xianming Fang, and Linda E. May. Influence of Exercise
Mode on Pregnancy Outcome: ENHANCED by Mom Project. BMC Pregnancy and
Childbirth. 15.1 (2015): 1-7. Web.
Tennant, Gisle. Exercise and Womens Health. International Journal of Childbirth Education.
29.2 (2014): 31-36. Web.