(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Recent study results that surprised researchers
show pregnant women who exercise more than 30 minutes each day expose themselves
to preeclampsia, a condition that can cause dangerous complications.
Danish and Norwegian researchers looked at the medical data of more than 85,000
women in Denmark who were pregnant between 1996 and 2002. They found pregnant
women who jogged more than one hour and 15 minutes each week more than doubled
their risk of getting preeclampsia. Those who exercised 4.5 hours to seven hours
each week were 65 percent more likely to have severe preeclampsia, and women who
exercised more than seven hours per week were 78 percent more likely to develop
the condition.
These results were especially surprising since several countries have issued
recommendations that pregnant women should exercise at least 30 minutes each to
prevent preeclampsia.
The Preeclampsia Foundation says the condition, which is characterized by high
blood pressure, is responsible for 18 percent of maternal deaths in the United
States. The only cure for preeclampsia is delivery of the baby.
SOURCE: British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 20008
