ABSTRACT
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in its guidelines for exercise during pregnancy and postpartum recommends to obese pregnant women to engage in healthy lifestyle modification that includes physical activities and judicious diets. In our experience, within 10 days of initiating an exercise program in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) patients, 60% will attain euglycemia. Physical activity in early and throughout pregnancy can prevent or reduce GDM risk. Significant is the fact that among subjects that engaged in even a minimum amount of exercise, certain comorbidities were precluded among them, fetal macrosomia and reduced cesarean sections. A potential cause for intervention failure in many of the trials could be related to additional gestational weight gain. In experience in the care of obese pregnant women with a Body mass index exceeding 30, a gestational weight gain of less than 5 kg for the duration of pregnancy has favorable outcomes.
