Adherence to walking or stretching, and risk of preeclampsia in sedentary pregnant women

Pregnant women at risk for preeclampsia may benefit from the positive effects of exercise, but they may be unlikely to adhere to an exercise program. A randomized trial was conducted with 124 sedentary pregnant women to compare the effects of walking exercise to a stretching exercise on adherence and on the preeclampsia risk factors of heart rate (HR), blood pressure, and weight gain. Walkers exercised less than stretchers both overall and as pregnancy advanced. HR and blood pressure were lower among stretchers than walkers, but weight gain did not differ between the groups. For sedentary pregnant women, a stretching exercise may be more effective than walking in mitigating the risk of preeclampsia due to higher adherence and possible cardiac-physiologic effects

Prenatal Stretching Exercise and Autonomic Responses: Preliminary Data and a Model for Reducing Preeclampsia: Prenatal Stretching Exercise and Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a leading cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity, and it increases maternal risk for future cardiovascular disease. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationships among stretching exercise, autonomic cardiac response, and the development of preeclampsia

Physical exercise during pregnancy and its related factors: An observational study in Japan

This study aimed to investigate the exercise habits of pregnant women in the third trimester (N = 303). We assessed participation in physical activities, including exercise or sports, using the Japanese version of the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire. A total of 183 (60.4%) pregnant Japanese women participated in some form of exercise and 87 (28.7%) exercised for 2 hours or more, per week, in the third trimester. Multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that women who set themselves a gestational weight gain target (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 8.10, 95% CI [2.82, 23.4], p\u3c .001), were more likely to participate in exercise or sports. In contrast, multiparous women (AOR = 0.44, 95% CI [0.26, 0.72], p = .001), and those whose pre-pregnancy body weights suggested obesity (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI [0.30 0.87], p = .013) were less likely to participate in such activities. We found a relationship between non-participation for 2 hours or more, per week, to being multiparous (AOR = 0.33, 95% CI [0.18, 0.94], p\u3c .001) and the presence of anemia in the second trimester (AOR = 0.51, 95% CI [0.28, 0.94], p = .031). Working status, seasonal differences, concerns about being overweight, and individual dietary nutritional guidance were not related to participation in exercise or sports. While setting a target for gestational weight gain may motivate participation in exercise or sports, women who were multiparous and those who perceived themselves as obese before pregnancy, showed a negative association with participation

Adequacy of Prenatal Care and Gestational Weight Gain

Background: The goal of prenatal care is to maximize health outcomes for a woman and her fetus. We examined how prenatal care is associated with meeting the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines for gestational weight gain

Challenges of Integrating an Evidence-based Intervention in Health Departments to Prevent Excessive Gestational Weight Gain among Low-income Women

To examine health departments’ (HD) capacity to adapt and implement an intervention to prevent excessive gestational weight gain

Exploratory Analysis of Exercise Adherence Patterns With Sedentary Pregnant Women

It is not well understood how sedentary women who wish to engage in regular exercise adhere to interventions during pregnancy and what factors may influence adherence over time

Physical Activity and Pregnancy: Past and Present Evidence and Future Recommendations

This review provides researchers and practitioners with an overview of the physical activity and pregnancy literature to promote prenatal physical activity, improve measurement, further elucidate the role of activity in reducing maternal health complications, and inform future research

Possible Beneficial Effect of Exercise, by Reducing Oxidative Stress, on the Incidence of Preeclampsia

We hypothesize that regular exercise enhances antioxidative enzymes in pregnant women, which reduce oxidative stress and, thus, the incidence of preeclampsia. Oxidative stress with enhanced lipid peroxide formation could lead to endothelial dysfunction in preeclampsia. Other conditions, such as increased transferrin saturation and decreased iron-binding capacity, directly and indirectly promote the process of oxidative stress and subsequent endothelial dysfunction. Exercise increases oxidative metabolism and produces a prooxidant environment. This acidic environment during exercise (at or beyond anaerobic threshold) promotes oxygen release from hemoglobin and increases in PO2 in tissues, as well as releases iron from transferrin. When exercise is repeated regularly, the body promptly adjusts so that oxidative stress is eliminated or reduced. The body's adaptations to a regular exercise habit seem to have an antioxidant effect. In humans, training effects have been identified with an enhanced activity of antioxidative enzymes. Another concerted adaptation that regular exercise brings to women's bodies is resistance against production of prooxidants by increasing the number of mitochondria. Equally important is a training effect that decreases susceptibility to lipid peroxidation. Evidence suggests that physically active women are less likely to develop preeclampsia. In theory, intracellular and extracellular conditions resulting from regular exercise should counteract the enhancement of oxidative stress, thus interfering with the process leading to endothelial dysfunction. This position paper describes a hypothesis and includes a brief review of exercise physiology and biochemical research in preeclampsia. Unlike other preventive treatments, such as aspirin or calcium supplements, a regular exercise habit leads to a positive and healthy lifestyle without concern of side effects.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63167/1/152460901317193558.pd

Tympanic Versus Rectal Thermometry in Pregnant Women

To assess the accuracy of the tympanic membrane thermometer for use with pregnant women. Design : Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting : A major medical center in the midwestern United States. Participants : Thirty-three hospitalized, afebrile pregnant women. Main outcome measures : Tympanic membrane thermometers and glass mercury thermometers were used to measure body temperature at the ear and rectum, respectively. The results were compared using two statistical methods: the Pearson correlation coefficient and a new technique suggested by Bland and Altman (1986). Results : Auditory canal temperature measured by a tympanic membrane thermometer correlated with rectal temperature as measured by a glass mercury thermometer ( r = 0.38, p = 0.01). Thus, the tympanic membrane thermometer is acceptable for monitoring the body temperature of pregnant women. However, the device's estimation of rectal temperature is not clinically reliable. Conclusions : Tympanic membrane thermometers, when applied with direct measures, are acceptable for use with pregnant women. It is not recommended that the rectal estimate mode be used with pregnant women.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72991/1/j.1552-6909.1995.tb02556.x.pd