Effects in Type of Birth of Physical Exercise During Pregnancy

October 26, 2011 updated by: Lilian Cristina da Silveira, Hospital do Servidor Publico Estadual

Abstract:

Objectives:[The goal is] to confirm if physical activity of medium intensity performed during gestation can influence the way of delivery, and observe the adherence to exercise among pregnant women with different education levels. Methods: Held at the Center for Breastfeeding Incentive in the city of São Sebastião, State of São Paulo (Brazil), between April 7, 2008 and April 14, 2009, the prospective study involved 66 primigravid women, who were divided into two groups: the exercise group (GE) that exercised regularly during pregnancy, and the other control group (GC) that did not exercise regularly during same period. The significance level adopted in this study was five per cent (p = 0.05).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Research was conducted at the Maternal Breastfeeding Incentive Center (Centro de Incentivo ao Aleitamento Materno - CIAMA) in São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil. The 66 primigravidas were allocated to two groups: a control group, with 29 pregnant women who had not performed any kind of physical activity during pregnancy, and another group, the exercise group, with 37 pregnant women who performed supervised aerobic physical exercises twice a week. These volunteers needed to attend at least 20 sessions to be included in the research. No pregnant women in the control group or the exercise group had performed regular physical activity in the year prior to the pregnancy. All participants received verbal information on how the research would be conducted, and after agreeing to participate they signed a free and informed consent term. The physical activity was prescribed by a physical therapist who remained available to address any doubts about the physical activity and about the research. The study followed the baselines of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), where the environment temperature hasn't exceeded 28 °C. The pregnant women were told to wear comfortable clothes and to drink water before and during the activity, and not to perform physical activity while fasting. They were also instructed to interrupt the activity in case they felt dizziness, breathlessness, pain, muscle weakness, dyspnea prior to effort or in case they presented calf swelling or pain, bleeding or signs of labor, or, still, if they noticed decrease in fetal movements. Two weeks after birth the volunteers were contacted by phone to collect information on the type of birth.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

66

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • São Paulo
      • São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil, 11600-000
        • center of encouraging breastfeeding (CIAMA)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 30 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

The inclusion criteria:

  • nulliparae,
  • sedentary women,
  • ages between 18 and 30,
  • gestation age superior to 18 weeks without clinical or obstetrical complications

Exclusion Criteria:

The volunteers in the GE couldn't have a gestation age superior to 20 weeks, had to participate on regular physical activity twice a week, and have a total frequency of at least 20 sessions. The EG pregnant women with frequency inferior to 20 sessions were discarded from the study.

The volunteers in the CG couldn't have performed regular physical activity during pregnancy. In both groups, the participants hadn't performed regular physical activity in the year prior to the pregnancy.

However, 31 women were discarded during the research: three for miscarriage, being two from the GE and one from the GC; one from the GE for anemia; one from the GC for pre-eclampsia; two for loss of contact after birth, being one from each group; 11 from the GE for not reaching the minimum frequency; seven claimed personal reasons for leaving the research, being five from the GC and two from the GE; and six participants abandoned the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: exercise in pregnancy
37 pregnant women who performed supervised aerobic physical exercises twice a week
supervised aerobic physical exercises twice a week.
No Intervention: Control group
29 pregnant women who had not performed any kind of physical activity during pregnancy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Predomination of type of birth, vaginal birth or Cesarean section among pregnant women participating in the exercise group and the control group.
Time Frame: Research conducted between April 7, 2008 and April 14, 2009 (one year)
Of the 66 volunteers, 37 were part of the exercise group (EG) and 29 of the control group (CG). Of the 37 in the control group, 25 had vaginal birth, while 12 had a Cesarean. In contrast, of the 29 in the CG, 11 had vaginal birth and 18 had a Cesarean.
Research conducted between April 7, 2008 and April 14, 2009 (one year)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adhesion to exercise among the pregnant women with undergraduate and elementary education.
Time Frame: The investigation lasted for one year
Of the 66 volunteers, 12 had undergraduate education. Of these, 11 were part of the EG and one of the CG. In contrast, 15 of the 66 pregnant volunteers had primary education, six of which were part of the EG, while nine were part of the CG.
The investigation lasted for one year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Lílian Cristina da Silveira, hostital public servant's state sao paulo (HSPE)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

April 1, 2008

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 4, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 26, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

October 27, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 27, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 26, 2011

Last Verified

October 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Líliancsilveira

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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