Switching gears for a second, I came across an interesting article this morning on an issue that's probably crossed the mind of pregnant women everywhere. During her pregnancy Napi and I often talked about developing some sort of exercise regiment. Unfortunately a plan never really materialized and we both probably regret that now. What I didn't know was that there was apparently data out there suggesting that African-American women who exercise during their pregnancy are at high-risk for pregnancy complications. A new study seems to refute this conclusion:
Exercise during Pregnancy Deemed Safe for At-Risk African-American Women
November 6, 2006
(Taylor Media Services) A recently completed study says exercise during pregnancy appears to be safe - even for Black women who were considered at high risk for pregnancy complications. The study which focused on poor, urban African American women in the Baltimore, Maryland area found that "Exercise participation did not increase of decrease the risk of low birth weight or pre-term birth," according to the co-author Sueanne Orr, Ph.D.
Orr added that there had not been much information about the impact of exercise on the pregnancies of low-income Black women. Most of the research had been done on middle-class white women.
Full results of the study appear in the current issue of the medical journal Ethnicity and Disease. Dr. Orr is with the Department of Health Education and Promotion at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. For more information contact ethndis@ishib.org or visit www.ishib.org
Interesting stuff, and as usual, inconclusive...
