The influence of prenatal exercise modes on resting maternal blood lactate
Resting lactate concentration in venous blood is a commonly used indicator of metabolic disease risk. Regular exercise during pregnancy improves maternal metabolic health; however, it is unknown if maternal exercise regulates resting lactate concentration. We aimed to elucidate the effects of three different modalities of exercise during pregnancy on blood lactate in pregnant women. This is a secondary analysis of data from three blinded, prospective, randomized controlled trials. Pregnant women were randomized to control or exercise. Exercisers underwent ~24 weeks of supervised aerobic, resistance, or combination exercise between 12-16 and 37-40 weeks gestation. Fasted resting maternal blood lactate was collected at 16 and 36 weeks of gestation. Although lactate increased 0.5 mmol/L in controls across gestation, this rise was blunted in exercisers (p = 0.01). Pre-pregnancy BMI was correlated with blood lactate in controls (p < 0.05, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.20) but not in exercisers (p > 0.05, R<sup>2</sup> = 0.01). Exercisers with overweight or obesity had lower 36-week lactate (p = 0.001), particularly in aerobic and combination (p = 0.03; p = 0.006, respectively). These findings show that exercise helps control the BMI-associated rise in maternal lactate seen in gestation and highlights the importance of exercise in women with overweight or obesity.
Authors
- Filip Jevtovic (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5486-2736)
- Cody J. Strom (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6921-8919)
- Samantha M. McDonald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7191-5086)
- Breanna Wisseman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9535-1011)
- George A. Kelley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0595-4148)
- Nicholas T. Broskey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1197-5116)
- Edward R. Newton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6802-6413)
- Jill M. Maples (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2624-2385)
- Ericka M. Biagioni
- Dylan Steen
- Steven Mouro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5025-677X)
- Alex Claiborne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7427-3851)
- Joseph A. Houmard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3682-5410)
- Linda E. May (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8231-2280)
- David N. Collier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3323-1900)
- Brittany Roenker
- Perrie F. O’Tierney-Ginn
- James DeVente (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9173-6061)
- Kara Kern
- Lindsey Rossa
- Caitlyn Ollmann
Institutions
- Boise State University (US)
- Tufts University (US)
- University of Southern Indiana (US)
- Tufts Medical Center (US)
- Vidant Medical Center (US)
- University of Rhode Island (US)
- East Carolina University (US)
- University of Mount Olive (US)
- Illinois State University (US)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Miami University (US)
- Gannon University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physiological Reports
- Published
- 2025-07-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.70444
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Gestational Diabetes Research and Management
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.11
Funders
- American Heart Association
- East Carolina University