Prenatal exercise boosts baby's brain

Babies whose mothers exercise three times a week during pregnancy have more mature brains than those whose mothers are sedentary, according to study presented Monday at the Neuroscience 2013 meeting in San Diego, U.S.. Researchers from University of Montreal recruited women who were in their first trimester of pregnancy and randomly assigned them to an “active” or “sedentary” group. Women in the active group were advised to get at least 20 minutes of moderate exercise at least three times a week during their second and third trimesters, while women in the sedentary group pretty much took it easy. After the babies were born, researchers tested their brains to see if they could spot any differences between infants whose mothers exercised and infants whose mothers were couch potatoes. The researchers evaluated babies' auditory memory by fitting the 8- to 12-day-old babies with specialized caps made up of 124 soft electrodes that detect electrical activity in the brain. Then they waited for the babies to fall asleep. Once they were snoozing, the scientists played a series of sounds–some new, some familiar–and measured the response of the infants’ brains. The results show the babies whose mothers had kept physically active had more mature brains than the babies whose mothers were sedentary. “We are optimistic that this will encourage women to change their health habits, given that the simple act of exercising during pregnancy could make a difference for their child’s future,” said Dave Ellemberg, a professor from the University of Montreal's Department of Kinesiology.