We already know that exercise may ward of Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s, Diabetes, Obesity etc. Could be that it also helps to create a “smarter” baby? Quite likely if the mother exercises moderately at least 20 minutes a day, three times a week during the second and third trimester, according to this new study.
Through a partnership between the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine Children’s Hospital, pregnant women were randomly assigned to either an exercise group or a sedentary group. After delivery, researchers analyzed brain activity on all the newborns once they were 8 to 12 days old. Results indicated that “exercise during pregnancy enhances the newborn child’s brain development”. Similar results have been seen in animal studies; this is the first trial examining the effects in children.
The researchers plan to follow the children and repeat examinations at 1 year of age to observe any continuing effect on cognition, motor and language development.
