BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) promotes health in pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: To collate the recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the effects of various types of PA during pregnancy on maternal-fetal health outcomes, among healthy mothers, and to report the variability in the outcomes reported. SEARCH STRATEGY: Registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019143522). Systematic search conducted in Embase, CENTRAL, Medline and CINAHL, from 2015 to 2020. SELECTION CRITERIA: RCT examining PA interventions and maternal-fetal outcomes. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Were independently extracted by two reviewers. Quality of studies was assessed with Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool. RESULTS: 37 studies (6,857 women) were included. PA had a protective effect on gestational weight gain (overall SMD -0.32, 95% CI -0.46 to -0.17, I2 = 77%; supervised exercise SMD -0.15, 95% CI -0.28 to -0.02, I2 = 51%; static cycling SMD -0.32, 95% CI -0.59 to -0.05; I2 = 49%), gestational diabetes (overall OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.98, I2 = 48%), and hypertensive disorders (overall OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.83, I2 = 0%). CONCLUSIONS: PA in pregnancy had a preventive effect on weight gain, gestational diabetes, and hypertensive disorders. Supervised exercise and static cycling had a protective effect on gestational weight gain. Variation in outcomes reported suggest establishing a core outcome set.
With permission from Excerpta Medica Inc.

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