Pregnancy: eclampsia and exercise

When first pregnant and keen to do exactly as the doctor orders, first time mums exercise. Pregnancy is not a disease. A little bit of physical activity every day is beneficial for you and the baby, everybody said.

But a new study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology  shows that women who take more than four and half hours of exercise a week during pregnancy are at an increased risk of suffering from dangerously high blood pressure or eclampsia.

The results of the study, which involved more than 85,000 pregnant women, show that exceeding the recommended 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per day is linked to pre-eclampsia.

Women who exercise 4.5 hours to seven hours a week, were 65 per cent more likely to have severe pre-eclampsia, the research found, reports the Telegraph.

It is believed that excessive exercise in pregnancy may increase stress on the body leading to raised blood pressure.

This makes sense to me. The pregnant body works very hard. It’s growing a baby, pumping extra blood and carrying the extra weight. That’s more than enough to cope with. Leave the exercise for later.