Women who exercise while pregnant may be able
to enhance their newborn baby’s brain development.
In a new study from the University of
Montreal, researchers argued that women who perform as little as 20 minutes of
moderate exercise three times a week while pregnant can dramatically impact
their child’s entire life.
“We hope these results will guide public
health interventions and research on brain plasticity,” lead author Dave
Ellemberg said. “Most of all, we are optimistic that this will encourage women
to change their health habits, given that the simple act of exercising during
pregnancy could make a difference for their child's future.”
To understand the relationship between
prenatal exercise and children’s brain health, Ellemberg and his colleagues
followed a group of pregnant women, starting at the beginning of their second
trimester. The study participants were randomly assigned to a sedentary
group or an exercise group – in which they performed at least 20 minutes of
cardiovascular exercise three times a week.
After the women gave birth, the researchers
used electroencephalography to measure the brain activity of the newborns at
the ages of 8 to 12 days old.
“We used 124 soft electrodes placed on the
infant's head and waited for the child to fall asleep on his or her mother's
lap. We then measured auditory memory by means of the brain's unconscious
response to repeated and novel sounds,” co-author Élise Labonté-LeMoyne said. “Our results show that the
babies born from the mothers who were physically active have a more mature
cerebral activation, suggesting that their brains developed more rapidly.”
The researchers will follow up on the
children’s brain maturation by analyzing their cognitive, motor and language
development at the age of 1.
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