A US study in JAMA suggests that reducing prolonged sitting time and increasing general physical activity can significantly support a healthy pregnancy. Pregnant women who sat for over 10 hours daily were twice as likely to experience adverse outcomes, including gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and babies small for gestational age. These complications carry immediate risks and can contribute to long-term health issues for mothers and infants, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Researchers emphasized that it doesn't necessarily require vigorous exercise; simply increasing general movement and reducing sedentary periods may be effective in preventing these pregnancy complications.

A US study in JAMA suggests that reducing prolonged sitting time and increasing general physical activity can significantly support a healthy pregnancy. Pregnant women who sat for over 10 hours daily were twice as likely to experience adverse outcomes, including gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and babies small for gestational age. These complications carry immediate risks and can contribute to long-term health issues for mothers and infants, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Researchers emphasized that it doesn't necessarily require vigorous exercise; simply increasing general movement and reducing sedentary periods may be effective in preventing these pregnancy complications.

A US study in JAMA suggests that reducing prolonged sitting time and increasing general physical activity can significantly support a healthy pregnancy. Pregnant women who sat for over 10 hours daily were twice as likely to experience adverse outcomes, including gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and babies small for gestational age. These complications carry immediate risks and can contribute to long-term health issues for mothers and infants, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Researchers emphasized that it doesn't necessarily require vigorous exercise; simply increasing general movement and reducing sedentary periods may be effective in preventing these pregnancy complications.

A US study published in JAMA suggests that reducing sitting time and increasing physical activity may help support a healthy pregnancy.

Pregnant women who sat for more than 10 hours a day were twice as likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes compared with those who spent less time sitting. These included gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm birth and babies who were small for gestational age. Such complications pose immediate risks to both mother and baby and may increase their long-term risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

“We were expecting to find that more sitting may be less healthy in pregnancy, but the magnitude of extra risk was bigger than we thought it would be,” the lead researcher said.

To examine the link between activity patterns and pregnancy outcomes, researchers recruited 470 women in their first trimester, with an average age of 30.7 years.

The women wore thigh-mounted activity monitors continuously for one week during each trimester to track sitting time and physical activity.

Overall, 174 women (37 per cent) experienced an adverse pregnancy outcome, while 86 (18.3 per cent) developed hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Results showed that two out of five women who sat for 10 or more hours a day had an adverse pregnancy outcome, compared with one in five women who sat for about seven hours daily.

While moderate to vigorous physical activity is recommended to reduce the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, it may not be feasible for many women.

“Our findings suggest it doesn’t necessarily have to be exercise; just getting up and moving around more may help you avoid these pregnancy complications,” the researcher added.

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