Influence of women performing physical activity during pregnancy on newborn health in Poland

It is recognised that levels of women's physical activity during pregnancy has a direct bearing on the method of delivery and the health of the newborn. The subjects of this study were n=3000 post-partum women surveyed together with their newborns representing all obstetric hospital departments throughout Poland. The questionnaires were completed on a single day during the third week of September 2010. The women were also asked about the quantity, range and type of physical activity they did before becoming pregnant. In 2011 the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire was used for precisely measuring physical activity according to the standard metabolically equivalent (MET). In addition, comparisons were made between the types of delivery, infant weight and newborn status using the APGAR scale with the amount of physical activity performed by the mothers. There was a positive relationship found between women's levels of physical activity and the newborn body mass ie. lowered incidences of intrauterine hypertrophy (macrosomia) and underweight and higher incidences of correct body mass, as well as fewer births by Caesarean Section were found in women that did more physical activity. The data thus support the now recognised benefits of physical activity in pregnancy and on the newborn. In order to improve this situation, education for women, medical staff and society in general is paramount and will be targeted to schools, medical universities, nursing colleges, media and post-graduates; especially GPs and gynaecologists.