Does Being Physically Active While Pregnant Provide Any Health Benefits?
In 2005, an expert panel was assembled to examine the impact of physical activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period on maternal chronic disease risk (165). The panel also addressed the association of physical activity with the risk of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Regular physical activity in early pregnancy has been found to be associated with a reduced risk of preeclampsia in 2 case-control studies (166;167) and one cohort study (168). The evidence is not strong, but is consistent. A more recent Cochrane Review of RCTs found a non-significant reduction in risk of preeclampsia associated with moderate physical activity during pregnancy; although only two trials with a combined sample size of 45 women met review criteria (169). A Cochrane Review for GDM also showed no significant effect of physical activity (170). However, reviews of observational studies consistently show a reduced risk of GDM associated with moderate physical activity participation be
