Maternal aerobic running during mid or late gestation improves the quality of oogenesis and folliculogenesis in the ovary of neonatal rats: An experimental study

Background: Regular maternal exercise in pregnancy enhances the physiological, metabolic, and psychological health of mother and fetus. Objective: To determine the effect of maternal aerobic running during mid or late gestation on plasma levels of estrogen and progesterone and the histological alterations in the ovary of neonatal rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty-one female Wistar rats were randomly divided into experimental groups to exercises during the 2nd or 3rd wk of pregnancy (n = 14) and a control group (n = 7). After birth, the neonate’s blood was obtained and the estrogen and progesterone levels were evaluated. The ovaries were then removed and used for histological investigations and apoptic assessment. Results: Higher concentrations of estrogen and progesterone were found in the neonates of the experimental groups (p = 0.001) compared to the control group. The experimental groups had a large ovarian diameter (2nd wk: p = 0.044; 3rd wk: p = 0.005) and angiogenesis (2nd wk: p = 0.003; 3rd wk: p = 0.001). In addition, significant enhancements were seen in the the experimental groups in terms of the number (2nd wk: p = 0.017; p = 0.035) and diameter (2nd wk: p = 0.046; 3rd wk: p = 0.004) of primordial follicles, as well as in the diameter of primary oocytes (2nd wk: p = 0.073; 3rd wk: p = 0.019) compared to the control group. Moreover, rats that exercised had a lower number of apoptotic primordial follicles than the control group (2nd wk: p = 0.001; 3rd wk: p = 0.001). Conclusion: It was shown that maternal aerobic running can lead to increased plasma levels of estrogen and progesterone, also improved histological characteristics of the ovary in neonatal rats. Key words: Apoptosis, Exercise, Neonatal, Oogenesis, Ovary, Rat.

Physical exercise in pregnancy: benefits, risks and prescription

Objectives Regular physical exercise during pregnancy is associated with numerous benefits. In general women are not adequately advised on this matter and along with their concerns regarding the potential risks, it contributes to the abandonment or refusal to start exercising during pregnancy. Content The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive literature review, gathering the strongest evidence about the risks and benefits and the prescription of physical exercise. A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE including articles considered to have the highest level of scientific evidence. Fifty-seven articles, including 32 meta-analysis, 9 systematic reviews and 16 randomized controlled trials were included in the final review. Summary Exercise can help preventing relevant pregnancy related disorders, such as gestational diabetes, excessive gestational weight gain, hypertensive disorders, urinary incontinence, fetal macrosomia, lumbopelvic pain, anxiety and prenatal depression. Exercise is not related with an increased risk of maternal or perinatal adverse outcomes. Compliance with current guidelines is sufficient to achieve the main benefits, and exercise type and intensity should be based on women’s previous fitness level. Outlook Exercise in pregnancy is safe for both mother and fetus, contributing to prevent pregnancy related disorders. Exercise type and intensity should be adapted to woman’s previous fitness level, medical history and characteristics of the ongoing pregnancy.

Pemantauan Kecemasan dan Lama Persalinan Kala I pada Ibu Bersalin dengan Pelaksanaan Yoga Kehamilan

Pregnancy makes women experience a lot of changes. Changes in the body and mind can cause discomfort in pregnant women. In addition to the physical discomfort felt, psychological discomfort is also common. Problems with common prevalence include anxiety and depression in pregnancy. One intervention that can reduce anxiety can be physical exercise such as yoga. The benefits obtained from yoga include providing a sense of comfort, decreasing stress, reducing labor pain, self-efficacy in childbirth, increasing quality of life, interpersonal relationships, autonomic nervous system function, and shortening the duration of labor. The purpose of this service is to introduce to the public the benefits of pregnancy yoga in reducing maternal anxiety in dealing with labor and accelerating the first stage of labor in women giving birth in Pekanbaru city. This community service was carried out for 3 months. This service program has several activities, namely: carrying out pregnancy checks for pregnant women, carrying out yoga exercise activities in pregnancy and assessing the results of yoga exercise activities in pregnancy. This service is carried out in the work area of ​​the Payung Sekaki Health Center with a total of 30 pregnant women who are trained in yoga exercises. Participants in this training are pregnant women whose pregnancy is in the third trimester. The output of this community service is the formation of a yoga gymnastics community in the Working area of ​​the Payung Sekaki Health Center. From the results of the implementation of yoga exercise in pregnancy, it was found that yoga exercise in pregnancy can reduce the level of maternal anxiety during childbirth. And by doing yoga exercises, the mother's 1st period of time during childbirth is 6 hours.

How APPropriate are exercise apps for pregnant women? A systematic search and content analysis of evidence-based content, features of exercise instruction, and expert involvement. (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Guidelines on physical activity/exercise during pregnancy recommend all women without contraindications engage in regular physical activity to improve both their own health and the health of their baby. Many women are uncertain how to safely engage in physical activity/exercise during this life-stage and are increasingly using mobile applications (apps) to access health-related information. However, the extent to which apps provide physical activity/exercise advice aligns with current evidence-based pregnancy recommendations is currently unclear. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic search and content analysis of apps that promote physical activity/exercise in pregnancy to examine: (1) alignment of the content with current evidence-based recommendations; (2) delivery, format and features of physical activity/exercise instruction; and (3) credentials of app developers. METHODS Systematic searches were conducted in the Australian AppStore and GooglePlay stores in October 2020. Apps were identified using combinations of search terms relevant to pregnancy and physical activity/exercise and screened for inclusion (primary focus on physical activity/exercise during pregnancy, free to download or did not require immediate paid subscription and an average user rating of 4+ out of 5). Each app was then independently reviewed using an author-designed extraction tool. Data were exported, collated, and reported using descriptive statistics. RESULTS Twenty-seven apps were included in this review (GooglePlay: n=16 and AppStore: n=11). All were exercise-based apps that predominately recommended structured and purposeful activity. Two-thirds (n=17) provided some information relating to each of the FITT principles (frequency, intensity, time, type) of exercise; however, only three provided this information in-line with current evidence-based guidelines. Just over one-third of apps (n=10) provided information about contraindications to exercise during pregnancy and referenced the supporting evidence. No apps actively engaged in screening for potential contraindications. Only four apps collected information about the user’s current exercise behaviours, three apps allowed users to personalise features relating to their exercise preferences, and just over one-third (n=10) provided information about developer credentials. CONCLUSIONS Our findings showed that few exercise apps designed for pregnancy aligned with current evidence-based physical activity guidelines. No apps screened users for contraindications to physical activity/exercise during pregnancy and most lacked appropriate personalisation features to account for individual characteristics. Few involved qualified experts during the development of the app. As such, there is a need to improve the quality of apps that promote exercise in pregnancy, to ensure women are appropriately supported to engage in exercise, and the potential risk of injury, complications and/or adverse pregnancy outcomes for both mother and child is minimised. This could be done by providing expert guidance that aligns with current recommendations, introducing screening measures and features that enable personalisation and tailoring to individual users, or by developing a recognised system for regulating apps. CLINICALTRIAL Not required

PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF EXERCISE AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN WADATA, MAKURDI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BENUE STATE

This research study was carried out on the perceived benefits of exercise among pregnant women in Wadata, Makurdi Local Government, Benue State. The objectives of the study are to examine the perception of the benefits of exercise among pregnant women in Wadata, Makurdi Local Government Area, Benue State, to examine the importance and benefit of exercise among pregnant women in Wadata, to identify the factors affecting pregnant women’s participation in exercise. The significance of the study will reveal the perception of pregnant women on exercise, educate on the benefits of regular exercise by pregnant women and factors affecting women participation in exercise during pregnancy and contribute to the body of literature in the area of exercise in pregnancy as it will serve as a valuable resource material to future researchers. A descriptive research design was used and a total number of 100 respondents were selected through simple and systematic random sampling. The instrument used for data collection was structured questionnaire. Collected data were analyzed using frequency and percentage. Findings revealed that pregnant women perceive exercise as beneficial and important during pregnancy; and age, culture and beliefs do not hinder women from engaging in exercise during pregnancy.

Asia-Pacific consensus on physical activity and exercise in pregnancy and the postpartum period

Physical activity and exercise in pregnancy are generally beneficial and enhance the physical and mental health of women. These benefits also prevent excessive weight gain and reduce risks of obesity in pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, higher rates of caesarean delivery, macrosomia and stillbirth. Thus, there is a need to optimise perinatal exercise and physical activity globally. There is currently no consensus recommendation on the role of physical activity and exercise in pregnancy and the postpartum period in the Asia-Pacific region. In this paper, we present seven key consensus recommendations on physical activity and exercise in pregnancy and the postpartum period by 18 key members representing 10 countries in Asia-Pacific regions during an international workshop of the AsiaDiabetes in Pregnancy Conference in Singapore on 11–12 January 2020. Through these consensus recommendations, we hope to improve the metabolic health of pregnant women living in Asia-Pacific regions by educating the public and guiding healthcare professionals on the safety and importance of physical exercise and activity to benefit pregnant women and after childbirth.

EFFECT OF EXERCISE IN WATER ON THE MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN IN PREGNANT WOMEN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders have been a major cause of disability in pregnant women. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of exercise in an aquatic environment on the musculoskeletal pain among pregnant women. Material and methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 54 pregnant women aged 20–35 years. The subjects were divided into the intervention group and control groups. Women who were in 20 to 26 weeks of gestation were included in the study. The intervention was Water Exercise in Pregnancy program conducted from week 20 to week 34. The control group received standard prenatal care. Musculoskeletal complications were assessed using the Nordic questionnaires at the baseline and, 4th and 8th week of pregnancy. The intensity of pain was assessed using a visual analog scale in the two groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics via the SPSS v.16. The lsmeans package was used to examine comparisons. Results: Results of the study showed that level of discomfort and musculoskeletal complications in the intervention group was significantly reduced during the 4th and 8th week of the study compared to the control group ([Formula: see text]). After the intervention, intensity of musculoskeletal pain in the intervention group showed a significant decrease compared to the control group ([Formula: see text]). Conclusion: Exercise in water during pregnancy can be effective to reduce musculoskeletal complications. Aquatic exercises should be developed in the exercise program for pregnant women with musculoskeletal pain.