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The Efficacy of Light-to-moderate Resistance Training in Sedentary Pregnant Women

The Efficacy of Light-to-moderate Resistance Training in Sedentary Pregnant Women: a Randomized Controlled Study

Status
Terminated
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03705741
Enrollment
120
Registered
2018-10-15
Start date
2018-11-05
Completion date
2025-04-15
Last updated
2025-04-17

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

Conditions

Pregnancy Related, Sedentary Lifestyle

Keywords

pregnancy, exercise, public health, randomized controlled trial

Brief summary

Maintaining a physically active lifestyle is associated with many health benefits, including lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, some type of cancer, and depression . Pregnant, healthy women are recommended to do 30 minutes or more of light to moderate exercise a day, although most women in the Western world do not follow current recommendations and decrease their exercise level. Benefits of exercise during pregnancy are several, including a protective effect against the development of gestational diabetes mellitus, reduced pregnancy related low back pain, and risk of caesarean delivery. On the contrary, a recent review concludes that sedentary behaviors are associated with higher levels of C Reactive Protein and LDL Cholesterol, a larger newborn abdominal circumference, and macrosomia. Previous studies show that exercise during pregnancy is associated with improvements in psychological well-being among previously sedentary women. Only a few RCT's have studied resistance exercise during pregnancy. These studies have found reduced fatigue and reduced need of insulin among women with gestational diabetes mellitus who did resistance exercise, with no adverse effects on fetus or the pregnant woman. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of regular light -to-moderate resistance exercise among sedentary pregnant woman, with regard to fatigue, health related quality of life, pain location and intensity, body weight gain, blood pressure, and childbirth outcomes.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALResistance exercise

Resistance exercise twice a week during pregnancy week 23-34.

Sponsors

Värmland County Council, Sweden
Lead SponsorOTHER_GOV

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Opaque sealed envelopes, which are randomly picked out before the meeting with each participant

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Single pregnancy and ≥18 of age * Ability to understand verbal and written Swedish * Inclusion during gestational week 20+0-20+6.

Exclusion criteria

* Follows the recommendation regarding contraindications according to the American Collage of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 2002 * Severe pain from the pelvic or the back * Regular exercise \>150 minutes per week the last six months

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in fatigueRegister at gestational week 22 and 34Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 0-100 millimeters. It is a psychometric scale and measure self-reported fatigue from 0, no fatigue to 100, very great fatigue. The scale is a streight horizontal line.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in painRegister at gestational week 22 and 34Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 0-100 millimeters. It is a psychometric scale and measure the intensity of pain from 0, none pain to 100, extreme amount of pain. The scale is a streight horizontal line.
Change in Health Related Quality of LifeRegister at gestational week 22 and 34Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS). Mark health status on the day on a 20 centimeters vertical scale with end points of 0 and 100. There are notes at the both ends of the scale that the bottom rate (0) corresponds to the worst health you can imagine, and the highest rate (100) corresponds to the best health you can imagine.
Change in blood pressureFrom perinatal records. Registered at gestational week 22 and 34Systolic and Diastolic
Change in weight gainfrom perinatal records. Registered at gestational week 22 and 34kilogram
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)from perinatal records. Registered at gestational week 34Development of GDM
Change in anxiety / depressionRegister at gestational week 22 and 34Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) 0-100 millimeters. It is a psychometric scale and measure self-reported anxiety/depression from 0, no anxiety/depression to 100, very great anxiety/depression. The scale is a streight horizontal line.
Birth weightfrom perinatal records at birth (gestational week 40)kilogram
Birth lengthfrom perinatal records at birth (gestational week 40)centimeters
Gestational ageFrom perinatal records at birth (gestational week 40)days
Acute cesarean sectionfrom perinatal records at birth (gestational week 40)rate
Macrosomiafrom perinatal records at birth (gestational week 40)rate of birth with macrosomia
Change in exerciseRegistered at gestational week 22 and 34Minutes a day. (Walks, light, moderate, vigorous intensity).

Countries

Sweden

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026