Not Exercising Could Mean Big Babies

A Study Shows Moms Who Exercise Little During Pregnancy Have Bigger Newborns

By KRISTINA FIORE
MedPage Today Staff Writer
Abc News

Women having their first child can lower the chances of having an overweight baby with regular exercise during pregnancy, researchers say.

For women having their first child, regular exercise during pregnancy can lower the chances of having an overweight baby, researchers say.

(Getty Images)

Working out at least three times per week reduced the odds of delivering a newborn with excessive birth weight (more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces), by about a quarter, Katrine Mari Owe, and colleagues reported in the October issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The birth weight- exercise associations weren't as strong for women who had given birth before -- they were more likely than first-time mothers to have an overweight baby.

Research has shown that regular exercise is an important part of a healthy pregnancy, but results of studies involving physical activity and mean birth weight have been inconsistent.

The Exercise to Birth Weight Connection

To clarify the issue, the researchers analyzed data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study of 36,869 normal, single pregnancies. They collected data on newborn birth weight from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Read more...