When it was reported a couple of years back that exercising strengthens a fetus’ heart control, many pregnant women took heed and hit the ground running, literally. Some signed up for prenatal yoga classes; others found new ways to incorporate low-impact aerobic activities into their daily lives.
However, for pregnant women who might not be feeling all that motivated or energized, new research reported this week has found that exercising during pregnancy might be the earliest intervention strategy available to you for improving your child’s heart health after birth.
A 2008 pilot study conducted by Linda E. May, an exercise physiologist and anatomist at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and her collaborators, found that pregnant women who exercised at least 30 minutes three times a week had fetuses with lower heart rates – a sign of heart health – during the final weeks of development.
Now the team has revealed that the fetuses’ improved cardiovascular heart control is maintained one month after pregnancy, which indicates that mothers’ efforts to stay active have lasting effects. The study results were presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2011 annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
May’s research team’s latest investigation involved 61 moms-to-be and monitored maternal-fetal and infant heart function four times over the course of the study. The women’s aerobic activity levels ranged from power walking to running. Some of the more active participants also lifted weights and practiced yoga.
“The system that controls heart function is known to improve with regular aerobic exercise,” May says, “and improved heart control function is evidence of a healthy cardiovascular system and overall health. Not only did the mothers’ exercise help maintain and improve their own health, but it set their babies up for a healthier start.”