I wrote this paper in March 2014 (please don't plagiarize it
but honestly, I wouldn't know either way, it's just bad form). Anyways,
I'll give a summary in normal-speak if you don't want to read
academia-speak.
Basically, there are tons of benefits to pregnant women who exercise
for the mother and child. Any amount of exercise is good but, it is
generally recommended to switch to low impact workouts or, if you
weren't active before, slowly starting an exercise program with guidance
of your doctor.
So, what are the benefits you may ask? First of all shorter labor.
Women who worked out had an average of 30 minutes less of labor. Now,
that's not huge but, I bet during labor it'd be pretty nice. You're also
less likely to have a c-section. I don't know how many of you that's
encouraging to but, I don't want to have a c-section so, I'll offer it
as incentive. So, there are the benefits during labor but, there's also
benefits during pregnancy and postpartum. You'll have less weight gain
during pregnancy (obviously) but, you'll also (statistically) retain
less weight postpartum! Maybe I'm vain but, I like the idea of that. The
final benefit mommies is that exercise reduces negative emotions (like
anxiety or depression), just like they do before you're pregnant!
So, what about your darling baby who is the whole point of the debacle?
Guess what? You get to start taking care of him/her before they come.
So, if you work out, your baby should have a higher placental weight. To
contrast that low placental weight is associated with blood problems
and smaller than average children. The baby will also be at a lower risk
for pre-term birth (why this is bad?). Yeah exercise! So, tell me gals, what do you do to keep fit during pregnancy?
Below is my entire paper for more info:
The
Benefits of Exercise during Pregnancy
Introduction
The American
Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
states, “in the absence of
either medical or obstetric complications, 30 minutes or more of moderate
exercise a day on most, if not all, days of the week is recommended for
pregnant women” (Women's Health Care Physicians,
2009, line 6 - 8). But, what are the benefits for pregnant women who exercise?
This paper explains the mental and physical benefit to mothers as well as the
benefits for babies if a women exercises while pregnant.
Synthesized
Review of Literature
Benefits
to Mother
Delivery Outcomes
Labor is a very difficult and painful time for women and
many women would love to shorten their labor times. Ghodsi, Asltoghiri, and
Hajiloomohajerani (2011) found that women who completed light intensity
training three times a week for 30 to 45 minutes had shorter first stage labor
times. There was not a large difference however. Women who trained had between 4.18
hours to 6.9 hours of labor whereas non-training women had labor between 4.7
hours and 7.5 hours of labor. There was no difference in second stage labor
times. However, with thirty minutes less time in first stage labor, one may
presume that a mother would have more energy to complete second stage labor. More
research is needed to see if more exercise, such as the amount the American
Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends, will lead to wider
differences in labor times.
Women that are active are also less likely to have a
cesarean section. Price, Amini, and Kappeler found that only 6% of their
subjects that were active had cesarean section compared to 32% of the women in
their control group (2012, p. 2267) Cesarean sections are invasive and also
lead to longer recovery times and thus are a detriment to mothers.
Mental and Physical
Benefits
There are many benefits to the mental and physical state
of the mother, if the mother exercises during pregnancy. Haakstad and Bo (2011)
found that not only did women who participated in an exercise program gain less
weight during pregnancy but they also had significantly lower weight retention postpartum.
This is both a physical benefit, for obvious reasons, and a mental benefit for
women who place value on being a certain weight and bouncing back from their
pregnancy weight quickly. This study also studied an exercise program that had
less than the recommended amount of exercise. This study’s program consisted of
aerobic exercise for 60 minutes twice a week. More research is needed to see if
the benefits continue with more exercise.
Furthermore, Guszkowska, Langwald, and Sempolska compared
exercise to relaxation techniques and showed that both resulted in, “the
emotional state of pregnant women improve[ing]” (2013, p. 129). However, there
were notable differences in the way each variable affected the women.
Guszkowska, Langwald, and Sempolska state:
Relaxation
caused a distinct decrease of negative emotional states – anxiety and tense
arousal and an increase of hedonic tone – while energetic arousal did not increase.
In the physical exercise group, the decrease in anxiety and tension was smaller,
the increase in pleasure feeling was not as distinctive, but the increase in energetic
arousal was more significant …Therefore, physical exercise seems to be less effective
in reducing negative emotional states than relaxation sessions, but more successful
in increasing positive states. (2013, p.129)
Women that have anxiety
and depression benefit more from relaxation techniques because of the decrease
in negative emotions but also benefit from exercise as a way of lowering the
amount of anxiety and depression they feel while raising their energy levels.
Women who feel lethargic and exhausted during pregnancy benefit most from
exercise because they feel “a surge of vitality, vigour and vital energy”
(Guszkowska, Langwald, and Sempolska, 2013, p. 130). Thus women who exercise
during pregnancy, contrary to what one would suppose, feel more energized
rather than more fatigued.
Benefits
to Baby
Many women are more concerned about
how their actions during pregnancy will affect their baby more than themselves.
Exercise during pregnancy also benefits the baby. Firstly, Price, Amini, and
Kappeler found that, “[a]lthough the exercise regimen was vigorous enough to
improve fitness, it had no adverse effect on overall pregnancy length, fetal
birth weight, Apgar scores, or placenta weight compared with sedentary
controls” (2012, p. 2267). Thus, women seeking to change from a sedentary
lifestyle to an active lifestyle during pregnancy can do so without risking
harm to their baby. Price, Amini, and Kappeler furthered their research by
stating, “placenta weight was slightly higher in the active group, consistent with
evidence that exercise augments placental growth during early and mid pregnancy”
(2012, p.2267). Low placental weight is
associated with short umbilical cord length and velamentous cord insertion (McNamara,
Hutcheon, Platt, Benjamin, and Kramer, 2014, p. 102). It is also associated
with “high hemoglobin values in neonates and lower-than-expected body size in
later childhood” (Naeye, 1987, p.387)
Other findings suggest that maternal
exercise while pregnant decreases the risk of pre-term delivery. Guendelman,
Pearl, Kosa, Graham, Abrams, and Kharrazi found that, “each incremental hour
per week of moderate exercise during the second trimester was associated with a
reduced risk of PTD. Furthermore, the benefits of moderate exercise appeared strongest
for those with a pre-pregnancy BMI C 24 kg/m2” (2013, p.726). While exercise
benefits babies from all mothers, mothers were overweight before pregnancy benefit
even more than those that had normal weight. Owe, Stigum, Nystad, and Bo’s
findings also support this claim. They found that engaging in regular exercise
during pregnancy shifts the GA distribution slightly upward resulting in a
moderately reduced risk of preterm births and a few more postterm births (2012, p.1072)
Application
It is evident that exercise is beneficial for both a pregnant woman and
perinatal baby. There
are multiple applications for this research.
Delivery
Outcomes for Mother
Mothers that are at risk
for long labors and cesarean sections would benefit from exercise
(Ghodsi,
Asltoghiri, and Hajiloomohajerani, 2011 and Price, Amini, and Kappeler, 2012). Labor is
generally a long an arduous process and any woman would
benefit from shortening it. However, first
time mothers, who generally have
longer labors, will benefit from the shortening the most Long
labors can lead
to exhaustion and necessitate non-natural labors in mothers that wish to have
natural
labors. Doctors, midwives, and birthing class instructors can also this
as an incentive to mothers to
exercise. One of the most dreaded parts of
pregnancy is the long labor. Pregnant women that are not
encouraged to exercise
by the other benefits noted may exercise to reduce their own pain.
Mental and
Physical Benefits to Mother
Pregnant women can benefit physically and mentally
from exercise and relaxation training
(Guszkowska, Langwald, and
Sempolska, 2013). Birthing class
teachers can learn from this research
and encourage or implement exercise and
relaxation training to lower stress levels. Doctors that are
treating
clinically depressed or anxious mothers should encourage and teach relaxation
techniques
and/or exercise either as an alternative to medication or in
conjunction with lower medication dosage
depending on the severity of the
depression and anxiety and the type of medication the mother is
taking. Stress
during pregnancy can result in low birth weight or preterm delivery which leads
to
possible negative outcomes for the infant, so, it is important to decrease
stress for pregnant women.
The encouraged exercise and resulting invigoration
is also beneficial for women who feel extremely
lethargic, which is common
during pregnancy.
Women can encourage themselves to participate in
exercise programs by committing to work
out with a pregnant friend or their
partner. There are also many gyms that offer pregnancy work-out
classes that
women can participate in and gain not only the benefits mentioned here of
exercise but
also the benefits of having an emotional support group.
Benefits to
Baby
Babies benefit from having healthy and happy mothers,
which exercise during pregnancy adds to. But, babies also benefit physically
from their mother exercising. Pregnant women who exercise at least one hour a
week decrease their risk of preterm delivery (Guendelman, Pearl, Kosa, Graham,
Abrams, and Kharrazi, 2012). “This modest amount of exercise seems clinically
important given that women are mainly sedentary and PTD remains a leading cause
of infant morbidity and mortality” (Guendelman, Pearl, Kosa, Graham, Abrams,
and Kharrazi, 2012, p.726). Furthermore, according to the Mayo Clinic, preterm
delivery can cause breathing problems, heart problems, brain
problems, temperature control problems, gastrointestinal
problems, blood problems, metabolism problems, immune system problems, cerebral
palsy, impaired cognitive skills, vision problems, hearing
problems, dental problems, behavioral and psychological
problems, or other chronic health issues (2014). By exercising a woman can
decrease the chances that her child will suffer from these because of their
decreased chance of preterm delivery.
Conclusion
Numerous studies show that exercise during pregnancy is
beneficial to both mother anc child (Ghodsi, Asltoghiri, and Hajiloomohajerani,
2011, Guendelman, Pearl, Kosa, Graham, Abrams, and Kharrazi, 2013, Guszkowska, Langwald,
and Sempolska, 2013, Haakstad and Bø, 2011, Owe, Stigum, Nystad, and Bø, 2012, Price,
Amini, and Kappeler, 2012). Doctors, midwives, and birthing instructors should
all encourage exercise to those women who are able to do so. Pregnant women
should understand the benefits of exercising during pregnancy and not believe
in the myth that exercise hurts infants.
References
Guendelman,
S., Pearl, M., Kosa, J. L., Graham, S., Abrams, B., & Kharrazi, M. (2013).
Association between preterm delivery and pre-pregnancy body mass (BMI),
exercise and sleep during pregnancy among working women in Southern California.
Maternal And Child Health Journal, 17(4), 723-731.
doi:10.1007/s10995-012-1052-5
Guszkowska,
M., Langwald, M., & Sempolska, K. (2013). Influence of a relaxation session
and an exercise class on emotional states in pregnant women. Journal of
Reproductive And Infant Psychology, 31(2), 121-133.
doi:10.1080/02646838.2013.784897
Haakstad,
L. H., & Bø, K. (2011). Effect of regular exercise on prevention of
excessive weight gain in pregnancy: A randomised controlled trial. The European
Journal Of Contraception And Reproductive Health Care, 16(2), 116-125.
doi:10.3109/13625187.2011.560307
Mayo
Clinic Staff. (2014, November 27). Premature Birth: Complications. Retrieved
March 9, 2015, from
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/premature-birth/basics/complications/con-20020050
McNamara,
H., Hutcheon, J. A., Platt, R. W., Benjamin, A., & Kramer, M. S. (2014).
Risk Factors for High and Low Placental Weight. Paediatric & Perinatal
Epidemiology, 28(2), 97-105. doi:10.1111/ppe.12104
Naeye,
R. (1987). Do placental weights have clinical significance? Human Pathology,
387-391.
Owe,
K., Stigum, H., Nystad, W., & Bø, K. (2012). Does Exercise during Pregnancy
Affect Gestational lenght at Birth. Medicine & Science in Sports &
Exercise, 44(6), 1067-1074. Retrieved March 8, 2015, from OvidSP.
Price,
B., Amini, S., & Kappeler, K. (2012). Exercise in Pregnancy: Effect on
Fitness and Obstetric Outcomes—A Randomized Trial. Medicine & Science in
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