Physical Exercise Controls Gestational Weight Gain

The Role of a Supervised Physical Exercise Program as a Alternative on the Control of Maternal Gestational Weight Gain

An estimated two-thirds to three- quarters of women experience gestational weight gain outside of IOM's 2009 recommendations: 40-60% of women experiencing excessive gain and 15-30% inadequate gain. Not gaining the adequate weight gain is strongly associated with several maternal and fetal complications..

The aim of this study was to assess the role of a supervised exercise programme on the control of maternal gestational weight gain and its consequences.

The physical conditioning program included a total of three 50-55 minute sessions per week. Pregnant women started at 9 weeks and finished at 38-39 weeks, therefore, an average of 85 training sessions were planned for each participant. All subjects wore a heart rate (HR) monitor (Polar FT7, Finland) during the training sessions to ensure that the exercise intensity was light to moderate. Each session included 10 min of warm up and 10 min of cool down which included an specific pelvic floor muscles training. The core section of the exercise session lasted from 25 to 30 min and included moderate-intensity aerobic exercises once a week and resistance exercises twice a week.

Inclusion Criteria: Being healthy and able to exercise following American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) guidelines Being able to communicate in spanish Exclusion Criteria: Obstetrician complications Being interested in the study after 18 weeks Not being regular in physical exercise program Younger than 18 years old

Ruiz JR, Perales M, Pelaez M, Lopez C, Lucia A, Barakat R. Supervised exercise-based intervention to prevent excessive gestational weight gain: a randomized controlled trial. Mayo Clin Proc. 2013 Dec;88(12):1388-97. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.07.020.