Exercising During Pregnancy Will Make Baby Smarter

Babies born to women who exercised during pregnancy have enhanced brain development compared with babies born to moms who didn’t exercise while they were pregnant. Exercise during pregnancy is safe and beneficial for both mother and offspring. Maternal behaviors during pregnancy have been reported to impact offspring health in adulthood. 

Pregnancy Exercise Benefits for Mothers

Exercise during pregnancy can reduce backaches, constipation, bloating and swelling. It is associated with greater sleep continuity. It boosts the mood and energy levels. Women who exercised two to three hours a week throughout their pregnancy were 40 percent less likely to gain excess weight than moms who didn’t, according to one study.

Research has suggested that exercisers have a better body image, higher self-esteem and more energy than inactive moms-to-be—and they may be less likely to suffer from postpartum depression. 

According to a recent study, nearly 70 percent of women experienced back pain while pregnant, but strengthening muscles in the back, glutes, and thighs can improve the posture and may relieve back pain, too. Giving birth is no small task, it needs stronger muscles, better control of breathing and increased endurance.

Other possible benefits of following a regular exercise program during pregnancy may include a lower risk of gestational diabetes, shortened labor and a reduced risk of having a C-section.

Exercise During Pregnancy Benefits Baby

Babies born to moms who exercised while pregnant have shown advanced neurodevelopment and have more active and mature brains. Research has suggested that regularly exercising while pregnant may prevent hypertension. High blood pressure reduces the flow of blood to the placenta, making it harder for the baby to get the oxygen and food he needs, which could lead to low birth weight.

Birth weight is one of the most important birth outcomes because it is strongly associated with infant mortality and it is a predictor of social and health outcomes in childhood and adulthood. Many studies have shown that children who have a reduced weight at birth, and especially children who are classified as having a low birth weight (less than 2.5 kg), have worse outcomes than children whose birth weight is in the normal range (2.5–4.5 kg). One of the outcomes that have been linked with low birth weight is cognitive ability. Low weight at birth is negatively associated with cognitive ability. Recent studies have shown that childhood cognitive ability scores are associated with various important outcomes in adulthood, such as educational attainment, occupational prestige and long-term sickness.

Exercise can improve mental health and cognitive function. Several recent studies indicate that the offspring of mothers who exercised during pregnancy exhibit improved learning and memory and decreased anxiety-like behaviors. These behavioral changes are accompanied by increased neurogenesis, neurotrophic factor expression and neuronal activity in the offspring. 

Metabolic Disorders

Maternal voluntary exercise in mice fed a normal diet positively influenced both male and female offspring glucose and insulin tolerance during adulthood. Beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity are observed in mice and rats, which suggest that the findings are not species specific.

Maternal exercise during pregnancy can increase insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in offspring skeletal muscle (mice and rats) and adipose tissue (mice) and decrease uptake in heart tissue (rats) compared to offspring born to sedentary dams. Maternal exercise during pregnancy helps break the endocrine cycle that promotes obesity and instead, improves the offspring’s metabolic profile.

Offspring from exercised mothers have improved insulin sensitivity, glucose handling, increased lean mass, and decreased fat mass compared to offspring from sedentary mothers. The improved metabolic profile of the offspring is not limited to those born to normal weight, healthy mothers, but rather these improvements can also be seen in offspring from mothers who are undernourished or obese and exercise during pregnancy. 

Cardiovascular Disease 

Maternal exercise during pregnancy can induce vascular programming in adult offspring. Cardiovascular disease was once thought of as a disease of the aging, however, reports have shown that atherosclerotic lesions can occur in infants which suggests that the intrauterine environment may play a role in atherosclerosis disease risk.

Maternal exercise during pregnancy would result in decreased cardiovascular disease risk in the offspring later in life. The prenatal environment can impact human fetal cardiovascular health. Data have shown that at 36 weeks of gestation, maternal exercise during pregnancy lowers fetal heart rate and increases heart rate variability. These indicate a maturation of the central nervous system, specifically the autonomic nervous system and brainstem, in response to maternal exercise during pregnancy. This is important because abnormalities in the autonomic nervous system have been reported to promote the progression of atherosclerosis. Exercise during pregnancy may be the earliest intervention to improve offspring cardiovascular health.

The improvements in offspring vascular function might be linked to increases in fetal heart rate and subsequent increases in blood flow through the thoracic aorta, which could have increased the availability of nitric oxide. Maternal exercise during pregnancy may have an atheroprotective effect on the offspring at birth.

Babies of moms who exercise may have stronger and healthier hearts. Scientists found that women who were active while pregnant had babies with lower heart rates, both in utero and after birth, suggesting that a mom’s fitness was making her baby’s heart more fit, too.

Studies have shown that moms-to-be who exercise during pregnancy have babies who tend to show fewer signs of fetal distress during delivery.

Exercise tips for pregnancy

Only about 40% of pregnant women exercise. Current guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity, both during and after pregnancy. Those who were doing more vigorous activity, such as running, before becoming pregnant can usually continue with their existing regimen, although they should check first with their doctor.

Suitable activities during pregnancy include brisk walking, swimming, indoor stationary cycling, prenatal yoga and low impact aerobics. These activities carry little risk of injury, benefit the entire body and are usually safe to do until delivery.

Some exercises are particularly useful during pregnancy, as they prepare the body for labor and delivery. Squatting may help open the pelvis during labor, it may be a good idea to practice during pregnancy. Pelvic tilts can strengthen the abdominal muscles and help reduce back pain. Kegel exercises tone the muscles in the pelvic floor. Strong pelvic muscles will help the woman push during delivery and reduce the risk of urine leakage afterward.

Exercises to Avoid in Pregnancy

It is better to avoid contact sports, such as soccer, volleyball and basketball, off-road cycling, gymnastics, horseback riding, scuba diving, kickboxing and high-altitude activities in pregnancy.

As important as it is to exercise, it's also important to watch for signs of a problem. Exercise should be stopped if there is vaginal bleeding, dizziness, headache, increased shortness of breath, chest pain, painful uterine contractions, fluid leaking or gushing from the vagina, calf pain or swelling or muscle weakness affecting balance.