Newborn hospitalisations after delivery are indicators of poor neonatal health with potential risks of future diseases for children. Interventions to promote a healthy environment have been used during pregnancy, with physical activity as a principal element. A systematic review and meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of physical activity during pregnancy on neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions and Apgar 1 and 5 scores (registration number CRD42022372493). Fifty studies (11,492 pregnant women) were included. There were significantly different rates of NICU admissions between groups (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.93; z = 2.65, p = 0.008; I2 = 0%, and p-heterogeneity = 0.78), and significant differences in Apgar 1 (z = 2.04; p = 0.04) (MD 0.08, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.17, I2 = 65%, p-heterogeneity = 0.00001) and Apgar 5 (z = 3.15; p = 0.002) (MD 0.09, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.15, I2 = 80%, and p-heterogeneity = 0.00001), favouring intervention groups. Physical activity during pregnancy could help to reduce the risk of NICU admissions that are related to neonatal complications.

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