Impact of Physical Activity During Pregnancy on Gestational Hypertension

• Published in: Physical Activity and Health Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 32 - 39
• Main Authors: Gao, Yajie, Ren, Shuaijun, Zhou, Huanzhen, Xuan, Rongrong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ubiquity Press 15.04.2020
• Subjects: gestational hypertension; pathophysiology; physical activity; preeclampsia
• ISSN: 2515-2270; 2515-2270
• DOI: 10.5334/paah.49

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are characterised by new onset of hypertension after 20 weeks gestation, proteinuria and other associated complications, which are major causes of adverse maternal and neonatal outcome. The benefits of physical activity on reducing the risk of essential hypertension, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease and type 2 diabetes are well documented, but the effcet of physical activity on gestational hypertension is inconclusive. This review presents the state of knowledge related to the impact of physical activity on gestational hypertension. Methods: We searched physical activity and gestational hypertension studies and highlight key articles with a focus on maternal health outcomes to best inform physical activity promotion efforts. Results: Physical activity during pregnancy can reduce the risk of gestational hypertension by improving placental blood flow perfusion deficiency, reducing oxidative stress, improving insulin resistance and improve the prognosis of maternal and fetus. Conclusion: Physical activity is of great benefit to improve the occurrence and development of gestational hypertension. Pregnant women should be guided according to individual factors and complications during pregnancy. However, there have no gold standard about physical activity norms based on gestational hypertension. Scientific computation of big data in real-world clinical research are needed in future research.