Impact of Exercise during Pregnancy on Maternal and Offspring Health

Dear Colleagues,

Growing scientific evidence indicates that sufficient exercise during pregnancy elicits positive health benefits to the mother, fetus and neonate. Health benefits related to prenatal exercise include controlled gestational weight gain, reduced postpartum weight retention, improved cardiovascular function and body composition. While these beneficial health outcomes are frequently observed in rigorously designed intervention studies, knowledge on the underlying mechanisms leading to these health changes remain unclear. Moreover, previous studies are predominantly conducted among women with healthy pregnancies, resulting in a large gap in knowledge regarding the effects of prenatal exercise in pregnancies complicated by overweight, obesity, preeclampsia, metabolic syndrome, etc. Thus, studies investigating the potential roles of the development and function of the placenta, adaptations to maternal skeletal muscle, metabolism, cytokine profiles, hormone concentrations in both healthy and complicated pregnancies are needed.

This Special Issue, entitled “Impact of Exercise during Pregnancy on Maternal and Offspring Health”, is soliciting original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, brief reports and commentaries that address these significant gaps in knowledge.

Dr. Samantha McDonald
Guest Editor

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