Sparing a few minutes for exercise before and after conceiving a child can prevent development of high blood pressure during pregnancy, researchers say.
High blood pressure during pregnancy is a risk factor for both the mother and the unborn baby. It affects mother's organs, including kidneys and leads to low birth weight and premature birth. In severe cases, it leads to preeclampsia.
Women suffering from preeclampsia will have high blood pressure, fluid retention and protein in the urine leading to adverse impact on the growth of the unborn baby in the uterus.
According to the Preeclampsia Foundation, between five and eight percent of pregnant women are affected by preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders in the country and nearly 10,500 babies die due to the condition.
For examining the power of exercise in treating hypertension, Jeff Gilbert and his research team conducted some experiments on pregnant rats.
By restricting blood flow to placentas, the researchers induced hypertension in these animals. Later the rats were subjected to regular exercise on activity wheels.They found exercise before and during pregnancy reducing maternal high blood pressure.
"The data from our study raise the possibility that exercise regimens if started before pregnancy and maintained through most of gestation may be an important way for women to mitigate the risk of preeclampsia," Gilbert said in a news release.
"There are certainly questions that remain, such as when and how much exercise is required and whether exercise training must begin before pregnancy for these beneficial effects to occur. Moreover, further studies are needed to determine if it can safely be used as a therapeutic modality for hypertension caused by insufficient blood flow in the placenta. But these results are certainly encouraging."
The study will appear in the December issue of American Heart Associations' journal, Hypertension.
Previous studies have found many risks associated with high blood pressure during pregnancy. Researchers from the University of Helsinki, Finland found high blood pressure during pregnancy lowering intelligence levels of children.
