Physical activity before, during pregnancy boosts neurodevelopment in offspring

Maternal physical activity before and during pregnancy appears to have favourable effects of the neurodevelopment of children, as reported in a study.

Researchers used data from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. They looked at a 38,219 mother-child pairs (maternal mean age 31.1 years, 50.8 percent male children), with child follow-up occurring from birth to 3 years of age.

Maternal physical activity levels before and during pregnancy were evaluated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Child neurodevelopment was assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires Third Edition (ASQ-3) at 6-month intervals from 6 months to 3 years of age. The five developmental domains examined were communication, gross and fine motor skills, problem solving, and personal-social. Scores were based on caregiver responses and compared with established cutoff scores.

In multivariable logistic regression models, higher maternal physical activity was associated with better child neurodevelopment.

At 6 months of age, children born to women with higher prepregnancy physical activity had significantly higher odds of performing better in each ASQ-3 domain compared with children born to women who did not engage in physical activity. Furthermore, higher maternal mid-pregnancy physical activity was associated with greater odds of performing better on the gross motor (odds ratio [OR], 1.18, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.06–1.33), fine motor (OR, 1.60, 95 percent CI, 1.37–1.86), and problem solving (OR, 1.23, 95 percent CI, 1.10–1.38) domains.

At 3 years of age, children born to women with higher vs no prepregnancy physical activity tended to perform better on the problem-solving domain (OR, 1.16, 95 percent CI, 1.01–1.34). No associations were noted for maternal mid-pregnancy physical activity and child performance on ASQ-3 domains at 3 years of age.

More studies are needed to shed light on the physiological mechanisms underlying the positive effects of maternal physical activity on child neurodevelopment.