Introduction. Women attain numerous benefits from physical activity during pregnancy. However, because of physical changes that occur during pregnancy, special precautions are also needed. This review summarizes current guidelines for physical activity among pregnant women worldwide. Methods. We searched PubMed (MedLINE) for country-specific governmental and clinical guidelines on physical activity during pregnancy through the year 2012. We cross-referenced with articles referring to guidelines, with only the most recent included. An abstraction form was used to extract key details and summarize. Results. In total, 11 guidelines were identified from 9 countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Japan, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom, United States). Most guidelines supported moderate-intensity physical activity during pregnancy (10/11) and indicated specific frequency (9/11) and duration/time (9/11) recommendations. Most guidelines provided advice on initiating an exercise program during pregnancy (10/11). Six guidelines included absolute and relative contraindications to exercise. All guidelines generally ruled-out sports with risks of falls, trauma, or collisions. Six guidelines included indications for stopping exercise during pregnancy. Conclusion. This review contrasted pregnancy-related physical activity guidelines from around the world, and can help inform new guidelines as they are created or updated and facilitate the development of a worldwide guideline.

Objective The influence of an exercise programme performed by healthy pregnant women on maternal glucose tolerance was studied. Study design A physical activity (PA, land/aquatic activities) programme during the entire pregnancy (three sessions per week) was conducted by a qualified instructor. 83 healthy pregnant women were randomly assigned to either an exercise group (EG, n=40) or a control (CG, n=43) group. 50 g maternal glucose screen (MGS), maternal weight gain and several pregnancy outcomes were recorded. Results Significant differences were found between study groups on the 50 g MGS. Values corresponding to the EG (103.8±20.4 mg/dl) were better than those of the CG (126.9±29.5 mg/dl), p=0.000. In addition, no differences in maternal weight gain and no cases of gestational diabetes in EG versus 3 in CG (7%) (p>0.05) were found. Conclusion A moderate PA programme performed during pregnancy improves levels of maternal glucose tolerance.

Objective: In this study, the authors assessed the effects of a structured, moderate-intensity exercise program during the entire length of pregnancy on a woman’s method of delivery. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 290 healthy pregnant Caucasian (Spanish) women with a singleton gestation who were randomly assigned to either an exercise (n = 138) or a control (n = 152) group. Pregnancy outcomes, including the type of delivery, were measured at the end of the pregnancy. Results: The percentage of cesarean and instrumental deliveries in the exercise group were lower than in the control group (15.9%, n = 22; 11.6%, n = 16 vs. 23%, n = 35; 19.1%, n = 29, respectively; p = 0.03). The overall health status of the newborn as well as other pregnancy outcomes was unaffected. Conclusions: Based on these results, a supervised program of moderate-intensity exercise performed throughout pregnancy was associated with a reduction in the rate of cesarean, instrumental deliveries and can be recommended for healthy women in pregnancy.

Recent studies have estimated the prevalence of depression during pregnancy to be between 10% and 30%, which is higher than that in the postpartum period. Pharmacological treatment during pregnancy is difficult because of the possible side effects of antidepressants on the mother and the fetus. The aim of this study was to examine whether a supervised exercise program (EP) reduces depressive symptoms in pregnant women. A randomized controlled trial was designed. One hundred eighty four healthy pregnant women from Fuenlabrada Hospital were included (31.37 ± 3.62 years). Women from the exercise group (EG) participated in a supervised EP consisting of three, 55- to 60-min sessions per week throughout pregnancy. The main outcome measure was the patients’ depression level assessed by means of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). A total of 167 pregnant women were analyzed; 90 were allocated to the EG and 77 to the control group (CG). Significant differences were found between groups at the end of the study in CES-D scores (EG: 7.67 ± 6.30 vs. CG: 11.34 ± 9.74, p = .005) and in percentages of pregnant women depressed (EG: n = 11/12.2% vs. CG: n = 19/24.7%, p = .04). Our results show that supervised physical exercise during pregnancy reduces the level of depression and its incidence in pregnant women.