Associations Between Prenatal Physical Activity And Toddler Developmental Outcomes: Preliminary Findings From The Pregnancy 24/7 Offspring Study

BACKGROUND: Moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) during pregnancy is associated with favorable developmental outcomes in offspring; however, few studies have investigated these associations in young children. PURPOSE: This study investigated the associations between meeting physical activity guidelines during each trimester of pregnancy and offspring developmental outcomes at 24-months of age. METHODS: MVPA was estimated using the activPAL3 micro, which was worn for seven consecutive days in each trimester of pregnancy in the Pregnancy 24/7 cohort study, and dichotomized as meeting guidelines (≥150 min/week) vs. not meeting guidelines (<150 min/week). The Developmental Observational Checklist System (DOCS) was administered via REDCap to assess offspring development using standardized scores for total development, motor, social, language, cognitive, and behavioral skills, and parental stress. Fisher’s Exact, Chi-Squared, and t tests were utilized to select relevant covariates. Linear regression was used to assess the associations between meeting guidelines across trimesters and offspring developmental outcomes while controlling for maternal education and offspring sex. RESULTS: Participants included 50 mothers (34.12 ± 3.99 years) and their children (26.2 months±1.81, 52% female). The mothers were primarily white (n = 40, 81.6%) and the majority held advanced educational degrees (n = 26, 52%). Significantly more mothers in trimesters 1 (n = 24, 48%) and 2 (n = 26, 52%) met MVPA guidelines compared with trimester 3 (n = 15, 30%; all p < 0.001). Meeting MVPA guidelines in pregnancy was mostly not associated with children’s development. However, meeting MVPA guidelines in the 1st trimester was associated with significantly lower social standardized scores at 24 months (β = -0.0152[0.0074]; p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: Despite one weak, negative association with meeting MVPA guidelines during the first trimester of pregnancy and social development, our findings generally suggested that mother’s MVPA level was not associated with 24-month child development. Continued research with larger sample sizes and with greater consideration of confounders should confirm these findings. Supported by: NIH/NHLBI Diversity Supplement (R01HL164662-01A1S1; PI: Kara Whitaker, Primary Mentor: Sharon E. Taverno Ross)