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| Author(s): |
Mariana Barbosa do Egito
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina (FM/SBD) |
| Defense date: | 2010-11-10 |
| Examining board members: |
Marco Antonio Borges Lopes;
Rossana Pulcineli Vieira Francisco;
José Carlos Peraçoli
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| Advisor: | Marco Antonio Borges Lopes |
| Abstract | |
INTRODUCTION: Physical activity has been shown to produce highly beneficial effects in terms of maternal/fetal health. However, there are still doubts as to the influence of physical activity during pregnancy as regards premature birth and low fetal weight. Seeing that premature birth and low fetal weight are known to be the greatest causes of infant mortality and morbidity, it is fundamental that the relationship between maternal physical activity and its perinatal effects be investigated in detail. OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of maternal physical activity prospectively, in terms of the expenditure of physical energy during the activity, during the second and third gestational trimesters, and its influence on the perinatal outcome (newborn children small for gestational age SGA and premature birth). METHODS: A prospective, longitudinal, epidemiological and observational study was undertaken. A cohort of 325 healthy pregnant women who were attending a prenatal care at the Hospital das Clínicas, of University of São Paulo school of Medicine, was composed on the basis of a sampling calculation. Only singleton pregnant women up to 25 gestational weeks were included. The Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) was used for the assessment of the practice of maternal physical activity at the end of the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The clinical data used to adjust the logistic regression model, as also the maternal and perinatal results, were collected from the patients´ case histories. Statistical analysis: first, the terciles of the physical activity undertaken during the two gestational trimesters studied were created. Multiple logistic analysis was used to fulfill the objective proposed and the odds ratio was thus calculated for each variable of the physical activity studied, with a 95% confidence interval and a 5% level of significance. RESULTS: Neither in the non-adjusted Regression model nor in the model adjusted in accordance with the control variables analyzed, did the variables of physical activity, or the duration of the working week, present any statistically significant association with the incidence of SGA neonates. With regard to premature births, patients with a higher level of physical activity in the second and third gestational trimesters presented, respectively, 63% and 61% less chance of premature birth than did those with a lower level. CONCLUSION: The level of physical activity in the second or third gestational trimester, as also the increase or reduction of the expenditure of energy during activity, shows no association with any increase in the risk of the birth of new-born small for gestational age (SGA) children. On the other hand, patients with a higher level of physical activity during the second as also during the third trimester present a smaller chance of premature labor than the patients with a lower level of physical activity during those trimesters (AU) | |