Neonatal behavioral profile of the offspring of women who continued to exercise regularly throughout pregnancy, ,

Objective: The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that continuing regular exercise throughout pregnancy alters early neonatal behavior. Study Design: The offspring of 34 women who exercised were compared with those of 31 demographically similar control subjects. All women had normal antenatal courses. Behavior was assessed at 5 days after birth with the Brazelton Scales. Results: The offspring of the exercising women performed better in 2 of the 6 behavioral constellations when examined at 5 days after birth. The scores reflecting their ability to orient to environmental stimuli were (mean ± SEM) 7.6 ± 0.1 and 6.5 ± 0.3, respectively, and the scores reflecting their ability to regulate their state or quiet themselves after sound and light stimuli were 6.6 ± 0.2 and 4.9 ± 0.3, respectively. The scores reflecting habituation (7.9 ± 0.2 and 8.0 ± 0.1, respectively), motor organization (5.7 ± 0.1 and 5.5 ± 0.1, respectively), autonomic stability (5.9 ± 0.2 and 5.5 ± 0.3, respectively), and behavioral state range (4.1 ± 0.2 and 4.5 ± 0.3, respectively) were not significantly different. Conclusions: These data indicate that the neonates born of exercising mothers have a different neurobehavioral profile as early as the fifth day after birth. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999;180:91-4.)