During pregnancy, a mother’s decisions not only affect her well-being, but also that of her future child. Thus, to the already known reasons for the need to remain active during pregnancy, we now add the results of a new study recently published in MED that points out how maternal exercise can influence children’s respiratory health. Specifically, this work carried out in Finland has revealed that moderate physical exercise during pregnancy can considerably reduce the risk of children developing asthma. Thus, mothers who perform physical activity at least three times a week reduce this risk by almost 50%.
This research was carried out by the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio University Hospital and the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare, and analyzed data from almost 1,000 mother-child pairs within the Kuopio Birth Cohort study, who were followed them from birth until they were 7 years old. The study is pioneering in establishing a relationship between maternal exercise and the development of asthma in children. According to researcher Emma-Reetta Musakka, from the University of Eastern Finland, “this is the first time that a direct association between physical activity during pregnancy and a reduction in the risk of childhood asthma has been observed.” Although previous studies have already shown the benefits of exercise for maternal health and newborn lung development, this finding expands the scope of these positive effects.
Maternal physical activity during pregnancy has beneficial effects on both mother and child, and some of these benefits, such as reducing gestational weight gain, decreasing the risk of cesarean section, and protecting against gestational diabetes, may play a role. on the child’s health and their risk of developing asthma. However, it is unknown whether exercise during pregnancy is directly related to a decreased risk of childhood asthma. In fact, despite recommendations from agencies such as the WHO and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which suggest a minimum of 150 minutes of weekly exercise for pregnant women, many women do not meet the these guidelines, which could limit the potential benefits in asthma prevention.
This is how the pregnant woman’s exercise benefits the baby’s lung development
One of the keys to this study is that the protective effect of maternal exercise was independent of other factors, such as maternal weight, stress, diet and other aspects of the family environment. Although all these factors influence the health of the child, the mother’s physical exercise during pregnancy was shown to have a direct impact on the lung development of the fetus, which could explain the reduced risk of asthma in childhood.
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood, and until now, strategies to prevent it have been limited. One of the few known effective ways to reduce this risk was to avoid exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy. According to Dr. Pirkka Kirjavainen, principal investigator of the study, the results are encouraging, as they suggest that “moderate exercise by the mother during pregnancy may have as strong a protective effect on the child’s asthma risk as if one of the parents to stop smoking.
Moderate maternal exercise may be as effective in preventing asthma as avoiding cigarette smoke
Researchers suggest that exercise could influence the maturation of the lungs of the fetus, supporting their development and improving the lung function of the newborn. However, the exact mechanism that explains why exercise reduces the risk of asthma is still unclear, so more studies will be needed to understand this connection.
Another relevant fact from the study is that exercising more than three times a week did not show a greater reduction in the risk of asthma. This suggests that a moderate amount of exercise is sufficient to obtain protective benefits, although the researchers note that it will be important to further study the impact of the amount and intensity of exercise during pregnancy.
The study also highlights the importance of promoting physical exercise among pregnant women. According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), pregnant women should do at least 2.5 hours of moderate exercise per week. These new findings reinforce the need for expectant mothers to follow these guidelines to improve not only their own health, but also the future health of their children.
In short, the results of this research provide solid evidence on the benefits of exercise during pregnancy in the prevention of childhood asthma. As a simple and accessible intervention, moderate exercise can be a valuable tool to reduce the incidence of asthma in childhood, thus improving the quality of life of both mothers and their children.
Source: University of Eastern Finland
