By Kathleen DohenyClick Here!">HealthDay Reporter
SUNDAY, Nov. 10 (Click Here!">HealthDay News) -- Moderate Click Here!">exercise during pregnancy may boost your baby's brain development, according to new research.
The study involving 18 moms-to-be and their babies found that "at 10 days, the children have a more mature brain when their mothers Click Here!">exercised during the pregnancy," said study researcher Elise Labonte-LeMoyne, a Ph.D. candidate in kinesiology at the University of Montreal.
Other studies have found Click Here!">health benefits for newborns and older children whose mothers worked out during pregnancy, the researcher said. And while animal studies have shown that Click Here!">exercise during pregnancy alters the fetal brain, she believes this is the first study to look at Click Here!">exercise's effect on human brain development.
For the study, which was scheduled for presentation Sunday at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego, the researchers randomly assigned 10 pregnant women to an Click Here!">exercise group and eight to an inactive group at the start of their second trimester. The active group was told to engage in at least 20 minutes of cardiovascular Click Here!">exercise three times a week at a moderate intensity -- meaning it should lead to at least a slight shortness of breath. They typically walked, jogged, swam or cycled, Labonte-LeMoyne said.
On average, the workout group clocked 117 minutes of Click Here!">exercise a week; the sedentary group 12 minutes weekly. Using an EEG, which records the brain's electrical activity, the researchers measured the newborns' brain activity while sleeping when 8 to 12 days old. They focused on the ability of the brain to recognize a new sound, Labonte-LeMoyne said, noting this reflects brain maturity.
The babies whose mothers Click Here!">exercised showed a slight advantage, the investigators found. "The brain is more efficient; it can recognize the sound with less effort," she explained.
The differences may translate to a language advantage later in life, she speculated. The researchers are continuing to track the children's development until age 1 to see if the advantage remains.
It's possible that Click Here!">exercise speeds up a process known as synaptic pruning, whereby extra nerve cells and connections are eliminated, helping brain development, Labonte-LeMoyne said.
The study findings didn't surprise Dr. Raul Artal, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology and women's Click Here!">health at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He has long touted the value of Click Here!">exercise for Click Here!">healthy pregnant women.
"It's known that babies respond to stimuli in utero," he said. The new research reinforces the belief that "pregnancy is not a state of confinement or indulgement," Artal added.
"It has been documented that pregnant women who lead a normal life, Click Here!">exercise and eat judiciously have better pregnancy outcomes," Artal said, while a sedentary lifestyle, obesity and some diseases can hurt the unborn baby.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that women with uncomplicated pregnancies who are recreational and competitive athletes can remain active during pregnancy, modifying their routine when medically necessary. Women who were inactive before getting pregnant or who have medical or pregnancy-related complications should be evaluated first by their doctor, the guidelines say.
Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Copyright © 2013 Click Here!">HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Elise Labonte-LeMoyne, Ph.D. candidate, University of Montreal; Raul Artal, M.D., professor and chair, obstetrics and gynecology and women's Click Here!">health, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, and editor, Clinical Updates in Women's Click Here!">Health Care; Nov. 10, 2013, presentation, Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, San Diego
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