Enhanced Neonatal Health and Neonatal Cardiac Effect Developmentally

Physical Exercise

AHA and ACSM recognize lack of exercise is a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), and other CVD risk factors such as obesity. It is important to note that CVD is the sixth leading cause of death and children are more likely to be undiagnosed due to their age and lack of symptoms. Further, according to the CDC, over one-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese and at increased risk of CVD. Although many programs for children aim to decrease CVD risks and obesity few, if any, programs begin the intervention during prenatal development. Our preliminary findings suggest that regular maternal exercise improves cardiovascular health (lower heart rate, increased heart rate variability), normalizes body fat composition, and improves nervous system and motor tone even after birth. Norepinephrine is essential for fetal development, influences many tissues (heart, nerve cells, skeletal muscle, and fat cells), and can stimulate growth factors. It is believed that exercise hormones, such as norepinephrine, released during maternal exercise influence these growth factors during development. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that regular maternal exercise during pregnancy will improve the health of offspring before and after birth as evidenced by lower resting heart rate, increasing heart rate variability improved neurological maturation, and decreased adiposity. We have three specific aims to test this hypothesis through the Enhanced Neonatal Health and Neonatal Cardiovascular Efficiency Developmentally (ENHANCED) by Mom project (IRB approved #12-002524). Aim 1 will establish the association between maternal exercise during pregnancy and the heart health of offspring before and after birth. Aim 2 will determine the relationship between modes of regular maternal exercise and neonate neurological and muscular maturation as this relates to health of the child after birth. Aim 3 will elucidate the influence of different modes of maternal exercise during pregnancy on fetal and infant body composition as this relates to risk of obesity and CVD disease. These studies will provide novel insight into how different types of maternal exercise during pregnancy influence the overall health of offspring. Furthermore, these findings may have significant implications on the public health as it may provide evidence of pregnancy as the earliest intervention for attenuating cardiovascular disease risk of children.

Recent studies have shown alarming increases in some of the major modifiable risk factors for heart disease (cholesterol, blood pressure, adiposity) in young children. We have previously found an association between self-reported exercise during pregnancy and improved heart measures of the fetus and neonate. In addition, a limited number of studies in which exercise was self-reported have demonstrated improved heart and adipose measures in the fetus or neonate with effects that persist into childhood. Previous prenatal exercise intervention studies using a prescribed exercise regimen have demonstrated the feasibility of such an approach; however, these studies have focused on maternal health and pregnancy outcomes such as birth weight. At this point, there is a gap in our understanding as to how carefully controlled, regular maternal aerobic exercise programs may lead to improvements in cardiovascular and adiposity risk factors in utero and in neonates. The central hypothesis of this project is that maternal exercise during pregnancy will improve the health of the offspring. Specifically, the objectives of the research proposed in this application are to determine the effects of regular maternal exercise on heart function, adiposity, and neur0motor function of offspring The data gathered will be the first documentation, by direct measurement, of the effects of maternal aerobic exercise on selected heart and obesity outcomes during the prenatal and postnatal periods. The potential impact of the proposed research on public health education regarding heart disease and obesity prevention is of public import.

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