Prenatal Exercise Promotes Healthy Circulation
Training during pregnancy may reduce high blood pressure risks.
Here’s more reason for moms-to-be to get moving. New research shows that pregnant women who meet or exceed current physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise per week have a better blood vessel response to increased arterial blood flow and have healthier blood sugar numbers than pregnant women who do not meet minimum guidelines. These findings suggest that prenatal exercise may lower a woman’s risk of developing high blood pressure when pregnant.
Read the study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2020; 52 [4], 801–09).
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
