Mood Benefits Of A Single Bout Of Exercise In Pregnancies Complicated By Fetal Growth Restriction

PURPOSE: Exercise in pregnancy is well established as prevention and potential treatment of mood disorders. Individuals with complicated pregnancies are often encouraged to decrease exercise or undergo modified bed rest due to perceived fetal risk but are at increased risk for mood disorders and anxiety throughout pregnancy. The short-term effects of exercise on mood and anxiety in complicated pregnancies are not known. METHODS: Mood of pregnant individuals was evaluated before and after a 30-minute bout of moderate intensity exercise using the Brunel Mood Scale. This is a validated, 32 question mood assessment scored from 0 to 16 in eight dimensions: anger, calmness, confusion, depression, happiness, fatigue, tension, and vigor. Pregnancies with both normal estimated fetal weight (AGA) and fetal growth restriction (FGR) were evaluated. Surveys were taken approximately 20 minutes prior to and after exercise. Baseline demographics were collected, and baseline physical activity levels were assessed with the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ). Mood subscales before and after exercise were compared using Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests. RESULTS: 11 AGA and 15 FGR participants were evaluated. Maternal age, gestational age, BMI at study visit, nulliparity, and baseline reported physical activity level were similar between groups. Individuals with FGR demonstrated decreased scores in anger, tension and confusion categories after exercise compared to before (p < 0.05) (Table 1). These differences were not seen in the AGA cohort. CONCLUSION: This trial demonstrates that exercise may have increased mood benefits in complicated compared to uncomplicated pregnancies. Complicated pregnancies are at higher risk for anxiety and depression and exercise may be an important therapeutic tool in managing mood. Larger studies are needed to confirm this finding and to determine the duration of benefit. Table 1: - Pre- and post-exercise mood sub-dimension scores. Mood dimension Pre-exercise Mean score (STD) Post-exerciseMean score (STD) P value Pre-exercise Mean score (STD) Post-exercise Mean score (STD) P value SGA AGA Anger 0.80 (1.60) 0.20 (0.77) 0.041* 0.09 (0.30) 0.00 (0) 0.317 Tension 2.93 (3.15) 1.26 (2.34) 0.008* 0.72 (1.27) 0.09 (0.30) 0.102 Depression 1.00 (2.03) 0.60 (1.45) 0.343 0.18 (0.40) 0.00 (0) 0.157 Vigor 11.13 (2.53) 10.27 (3.41) 0.251 9.91 (2.30) 11.81 (2.67) 0.058 Fatigue 5.53 (4.51) 4.80 (4.64) 0.168 3.81 (1.83) 2.91 (2.63) 0.292 Confusion 1.2 (2.31) 0.40 (1.30) 0.041* 0.09 (0.30) 0.00 (0) 0.317 Happiness 11.73 (2.53) 11.93 (3.61) 0.587 11.00 (2.93) 11.90 (2.98) 0.064 Calmness 11.53 (2.56) 11.33 (3.13) 0.812 11.00 (2.86) 10.72 (3.44) 0.670