Washington, Nov mber 17: A new study has found that regular
exercise before and during pregnancy could have beneficial
effects for women that develop high blood pressure during
gestation – contrary to previous research that suggested
otherwise. “The data from our study raise the possibility that
exercise regimens if started before pregnancy and maintained
through most of gestation may be an important way for women to
mitigate the risk of preeclampsia,” Human physiology professor
Jeff Gilbert said. “There are certainly questions that remain,
such as when and how much exercise is required and whether
exercise training must begin before pregnancy for these
beneficial effects to occur. Moreover, further studies are
needed to determine if it can safely be used as a thera-peutic
modality for hypertension caused by insufficient blood flow in
the placenta. Gilbert’s team induced hypertension in pregnant
rats by restricting blood flow to the rat placentas and
monitored gestation after six weeks of exercise on activity