Effect of high-intensity exercise during pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcomes: A Meta-analysis

Objective  To evaluate the effect of high-intensity exercise during pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcomes by a Meta-analysis. Methods  Computer retrieval of the databases such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM) database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database and Weipu Journal Resource Integration Service Platform was performed to search randomized controlled studies and cohort studies on high intensity exercise during pregnancy up to November 20, 2020. The statistical analysis was performed by Rev Man5.3. Results  A total of 17 studies were included with 31 747 pregnant women, including 7 randomized controlled studies and 10 cohort studies. The results of Meta-analysis showed that high-intensity exercise was able to effectively reduce the risks of fetal macrosomia (OR=0.49, 95%CI, 0.25 to 0.94, P=0.03) and not increase low birth weight (OR=1.10, 95%CI, 0.86 to 1.40, P=0.46), and increase the 1 and 5 min Apgar scores after birth (MD=0.11, 95%CI, 0.01 to 0.21, P=0.03; MD=0.11, 95%CI was 0.01 to 0.21, P=0.02). Conclusion  High-intensity exercise during pregnancy may be safe to a certain extent, which can reduce some adverse perinatal outcomes and shorten the duration of hospital stays for pregnant women. However, large-scale, multi-center and high-quality studies are still needed to confirm the influence of high-intensity exercise on abortion and stillbirths or other types of adverse events.