I'll do my best to give you the cliffs notes version so you may have one more reason to start, continue or plan for an exercise routine during pregnancy.
There were 10 participants in this study. 5 who did aerobic exercise at least 30 min three times a week at a
moderate to heavy intensity. The other 5 did not exercise. It wasn't their fault, they needed a control group.The results were:
- The fetal heart rates of the exercising group were lower
- Short and long term heart rate variability were statistically different at 32 weeks but not 36 weeks. A higher heart rate variability is thought to be associated with better heart health
These results prompted the Dr. May to state, “This study suggests that a mother who exercises may not only be imparting health benefits to her own heart, but to her developing baby’s heart as well. As a result of this pilot study, we plan to continue the study to include more pregnant women.”
All the more reason to get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week during your pregnancy. A walk, elliptical trainer, treadmill, prenatal fitness class, prenatal strength training all can benefit you and your baby.
Remember to listen to your body and exercise at a level that you are comfortable with. Everyone's heart rate will be different so set your intensity levels between a 4 and 8 on your RPE 10 point scale.
All the best from the Fitness4Baby pre/post natal fitness program and thank you Shira for sharing your knowledge!
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