Maternal and fetal response on prenatal exercise: an quasi-experimental pilot study

Despite the positive effects of exercise during pregnancy, only a small percentage of pregnant women choose to exercise because of concerns about fetal safety. The purpose of this study was to determine if the selected physiological functions of pregnant women increase or decrease to a limit that is still safe, and what effect this has on fetal heart rate and movement, depending on the type of exercise and physical activity of the pregnant women prior to pregnancy. An experimental study was conducted. Measurements of the pregnant women's heart rate, saturation, blood pressure, and body temperature, fetal heart rate, and fetal movements before and after exercise were collected. Exercises with two different levels of intensities (yoga-low and pilates-moderate) were compared. Thirty-one pregnant Slovenian women with gestational age between 20 and 37 weeks were included in the sample. When comparing pre and post exercise measurements, statistically significant differences were found in post exercise body temperature (p = 0.005) and systolic blood pressure (p = 0.007) compared with pre -exercise measurements. When comparing the results between yoga and Pilates exercise sessions, no statistically significant differences were found. When comparing results related to pre-pregnancy physical activity, significant differences in pre-exercise saturation were found (p = 0.041). Despite small sample size, results indicate that moderate physical activity in pregnancy has no significant effect on the vital functions of the pregnant woman that could indirectly endanger foetus. Larger study should be performed, to confirm these preliminary results.