Key result
High volume of physical activity during the first trimester was associated with signs of impaired deep placentation, including small placental volume and deep vasculopathy in 60% of cases.
Why the study?
Does high volume of physical activity in early pregnancy interfere with deep placentation in pregnant women?
Case Report (n=5)
No
Does high volume of physical activity in early pregnancy interfere with deep placentation in pregnant women?
High volume of physical activity during the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with impaired deep placentation, though all participants in this small series delivered at term without preeclampsia.
Should not change prenatal activity guidance; hypothesis-generating case report leaves open links to impaired placentation needing prospective validation.
Background The impact of physical activity (PA) during pregnancy on obstetrical outcomes remains controversial. We followed pregnant women who reported more than 3 hours of sustained PA per week during the first trimester of pregnancy. Cases Total five eligible women were followed. We observed small placenta from the first trimester (median: 0.68; interquartile [IQ]: 0.62–0.97 multiples of median [MoM]) to delivery (median: 0.82; IQ: 0.71–0.94 MoM), high uterine artery pulsatility index in the first (median: 1.82; IQ: 1.68–1.99 MoM) and second trimesters (median: 1.33; IQ: 1.11–1.56 MoM) of pregnancy. Placenta pathology revealed deep vasculopathy in three (60%) cases. However, all participants delivered at term and none of them experienced preeclampsia. Conclusion This small case series suggest that high PA volume in first trimester could interfere with deep placentation.
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Vachon‐Marceau et al. (2016) conducted a case report in Pregnancy (n=5). High volume of physical activity was evaluated on Placental development and pathology. High volume of physical activity during the first trimester was associated with signs of impaired deep placentation, including small placental volume and deep vasculopathy in 60% of cases.
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