London, Sep 27 (IANS) Danish researchers have found that women performing strenuous exercise in the early stage of their pregnancy could triple their risk of a miscarriage.
Exercising during pregnancy is known to improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system and helps maintain the muscle tone of women. But the scientists who conducted the latest research suggest that women should only aim for a little moderate exercise every day.
Researchers quizzed more than 90,000 women on their exercise regime and then linked the answers to the outcome of their pregnancies.
They compared the women with those who did no exercise at all. The study found that women who played high-impact sports or who exercised for more than seven hours a week were approximately three-and-a-half times more likely to miscarry.
Miscarriage is far rarer later in pregnancy and after the 18-week mark the link between exercise and miscarriage disappeared, reported the online edition of BBC News.
The results of this study suggest that high-impact exercise is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage in the early stage of pregnancy, study authors wrote in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
High impact exercise includes jogging, ball games and racquet sports. They all increase the risk as more than seven hours of exercise a week do, said the researchers who carried out their study at the University of Southern Denmark.
Some forms of exercise did not appear to increase the risk – including swimming, one of the most popular among pregnant women.
The government’s official advice is for women to keep up their normal daily physical exercise routine for as long as they feel comfortable.
It suggests that women who were inactive before pregnancy shouldn’t embark on a new strenuous fitness regime, but should aim for a little moderate exercise every day.