Exercise during pregnancy has cardiovascular benefits not just for the mother but for the developing fetus as well, according to research presented Monday at the 121st annual meeting of the American Physiological Society, part of the Experimental Biology 2008 scientific conference. May and colleagues tested the hypothesis that fetuses exposed to exercise in the womb have better autonomic function compared with that of fetuses not exposed to exercise. The researchers measured the fetal heart rate and heart rate variability between 28 to 36 weeks of pregnancy in women who exercised and those who did not — 5 women performed moderate intensity aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes, 3 times per week, while the other 5 did not partake in a regular exercise regime. In a telephone interview with Reuters Health, May said that fetuses exposed to maternal exercise had significantly lower heart rates than fetuses not exposed to exercise. At 32 weeks of pregnancy, the fetal heart rate variability was also significantly higher in the exercise group than in the non-exercise group. read more

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