Introduction The incidence of depression is high during the perinatal period. This mood disorder can have a significant impact on the mother, the child and the family. Objective To examine the effect of an exercise programme during pregnancy on the risk of perinatal depression. Methods Healthy women who were <16 weeks pregnant were randomly assigned to two different groups. Women in the intervention group participated in a 60 min exercise programme throughout pregnancy, 3 days per week, which was conducted from October 2014 to December 2016. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale was used to measure the risk of depression at the beginning of the study (12–16 weeks), at gestational week 38 and at 6 weeks postpartum. Results One hundred and twenty-four pregnant women were allocated to either the intervention (IG=70) or the control (CG=54) group. No differences were found in the percentage of depressed women at baseline (20% vs 18.5%) (χ2=0.043; p=0.836). A smaller percentage of depressed women were identified in the IG compared with the CG at 38 gestational weeks (18.6% vs 35.6%) (χ2=4.190; p=0.041) and at 6 weeks postpartum (14.5% vs 29.8%) (χ2=3.985; p=0.046) using the per-protocol analysis. No significant differences were found using the intention-to-treat analyses, except in the multiple imputation analysis at week 38 (18.6% vs 34.4%) (χ2=4.085; p=0.049). Conclusion An exercise programme performed during pregnancy may reduce the prevalence of depression in late pregnancy and postpartum. Trial registration number NCT02420288; Results.

Objectives: To compare the performance of three sonographic techniques, the ‘reverse‐face’, ‘flipped‐face’ and ‘oblique‐face’ methods, for visualizing the hard and soft palate in diagnosing cleft lip and palate (CLP).Methods: A total of 60 fetuses (10 with CLP) with a gestational age ranging from 20 to 33 weeks were examined. We compared visualization of the secondary palate with the previously described reverse‐face and flipped‐face methods (the latter modified by us) and the oblique‐face method developed by us using Oblique View^® imaging technology.Results: Among the 10 fetuses with CLP the defect involved the lip, alveolus and secondary palate in seven, and the primary palate only in the remaining three. The upper lip and alveolar ridge were well visualized in all cases with all three methods. Involvement of the hard palate was diagnosed correctly in 71% (5/7) of the cases using the reverse‐face view, in 86% (6/7) with the flipped‐face view, and in 100% (7/7) with the oblique‐face view; the hard palate was correctly found to be intact in 78%, 84% and 86%, respectively, of the 50 normal fetuses examined with each view. Involvement of the soft palate was diagnosed correctly in only one of the seven fetuses with defects of the secondary palate in flipped‐face and oblique‐face views, and was correctly considered intact in only 16% of normal fetuses in flipped‐face view and in 26% in oblique‐face images.Conclusions: Accurate visualization of the soft palate requires an excellent initially acquired volume, fluid between the fetal tongue and palate, and curving of the plane to follow the structure of the palate. The oblique‐face or flipped‐face views make it possible to visualize the soft palate well in selected cases. Copyright © 2008 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Objective: To evaluate the association between physical exercise during pregnancy and maternal gestational weight gain and fetal cardiac function.Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial of women with a singleton pregnancy managed from the first trimester at the Hospital de Torrejón, Madrid, between November 2014 and June 2015. Women were randomized to either follow a supervised physical conditioning program, consisting of a 60‐min session 3 days per week for the duration of pregnancy, or not attend any exercise program (controls). The primary outcome was maternal weight gain during pregnancy. Secondary outcomes included fetal cardiac function parameters evaluated at 20, 28 and 36 weeks' gestation, Cesarean section, preterm delivery, induction of labor and birth weight. A sample size of 45 in each group was planned to detect differences in maternal weight gain of at least 1 kg, with a power of > 80% and α of 0.05.Results: During the study period, 120 women were randomized into the exercise (n = 75) and control (n = 45) groups. Following exclusions, the final cohort consisted of 42 women in the exercise group and 43 in the control group. Baseline characteristics (maternal age, prepregnancy body mass index, parity, conception by in‐vitro fertilization, Caucasian ethnicity, physical exercise prior to pregnancy and smoker) were similar between the two groups. No differences were found between the groups in maternal weight at 20, 28, 36 and 38 weeks' gestation or in weight gain at 38 weeks. However, the proportion of women with weight loss ≥ 9 kg at 6 weeks postpartum was higher in the exercise compared with the control group (68.2% vs 42.8%; relative risk 1.593; P = 0.02). The ductus arteriosus pulsatility index (DA‐PI) at 20 weeks (2.43 ± 0.40 vs 2.26 ± 0.33, P < 0.05) and the ejection fraction (EF) at 36 weeks (0.85 ± 0.13 vs 0.81 ± 0.11, P < 0.05) were higher in the exercise compared with the control group. All other evaluated fetal cardiac function parameters were similar between the two groups.Conclusions: Performing exercise during pregnancy is not associated with a reduction in maternal weight gain but increases weight loss at 6 weeks postpartum. Physical exercise during pregnancy is associated with increased fetal DA‐PI at 20 weeks and EF at 36 weeks, which could reflect adaptive mechanisms. Copyright © 2018 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.