Exercise and Pregnancy: Randomized Clinical Trial

Effects of Physical Exercise During Pregnancy on the Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Status

UNKNOWN

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00641550

Enrollment

188

Registered

2008-03-24

Start date

2008-04-30

Completion date

2011-12-31

Last updated

2011-12-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Gestational Diabetes, Preeclampsia

Keywords

physical exercise, maternal complications, preterm labor, birthweight, Apgar scores

Brief summary

The effects of physical exercise on pregnancy remain to be elucidated. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to study the impact of exercise on maternal and perinatal outcomes. Our hypothesis is that physical exercise reduces preeclampsia incidence and improves birthweight when started early in pregnancy, with no impact on pregnancy duration, Apgar scores and neonatal complications.

Detailed description

The study will include low risk pregnant women randomized to practice physical exercise beginning at 13 weeks, 20 weeks or no exercise group. The objectives are: 1. To describe and compare biological and obstetrical variables. 2. To study doppler flow velocimetry indexes. 3. To determine the association between physical exercise and maternal complications: preeclampsia, preterm labor, gestational diabetes and weight gain in pregnancy. 4. To determine the association between physical exercise and perinatal outcomes: Apgar scores, birthweight, admission at intensive neonatal care unit, body composition and neonatal complications.

Interventions

OTHERPhysical exercise

Walking 3 times a week during 1 hours (moderate activity)

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

10 Years to 50 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Gestational age \< 13 weeks * Single pregnancy * Alive fetus * No previous practice of physical activity

Exclusion criteria

* Smoking * Chronic maternal diseases * Placenta praevia * History of preterm labor * Bleeding

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Maternal outcome: preterm labor, weight gain, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes Perinatal outcome: birthweight, Apgar scores, body composition, admission at neonatal intensive care unit	nine months

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Doppler flow velocimetry indexes: pulsatility, resistance and A/B relation (uterine arteries, fetal middle cerebral artery and umbilical arteries)	9 months

Countries

Brazil

Contacts

Primary ContactAdriana Melo, MSc

asomelo@gmail.com55-83-99732726

Backup ContactMelania Amorim, PhD

melamorim@uol.com.br55-83-88221514

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 25, 2026