A study has shown that aerobic exercise during pregnancy can reduce the odds of giving birth to an oversized baby.
Mothers who went to fitness training had lighter babies than women who did no exercise, scientists found. But their babies were not shorter in length and there was no evidence that they lacked nutrition.
Dr Paul Hofman, from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said: “Our findings show that regular aerobic exercise alters the maternal environment in some way that has an impact on nutrient stimulation of foetal growth, resulting in a reduction in offspring birth weight.”
Exercise consisted of stationary cycling and involved a maximum of five 40 minute sessions per week.
In the study, the women who exercised had babies that were on average 143 grams lighter than those of women who did not exercise.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
