RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) promotes health in pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: To collate the recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the effects of various types of PA during pregnancy on maternal-fetal health outcomes, among healthy mothers, and to report the variability in the outcomes reported. SEARCH STRATEGY: Registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019143522). Systematic search conducted in EMBASE, CENTRAL, MEDLINE and CINAHL, from 2015-2020. SELECTION CRITERIA: RCT examining PA interventions and maternal-fetal outcomes. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Were independently extracted by two reviewers. Quality of studies was assessed with Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool. RESULTS: 37 studies (6857 women) were included. PA had a protective effect on gestational weight gain (overall SMD -0.32, 95 % CI -0.46, -0.17, I2 77 %; supervised exercise SMD -0.15, 95 % CI -0.28, -0.02, I2 51 %; static cycling SMD -0.32, 95 % CI -0.59, -0.05; I2 49 %), gestational diabetes (overall OR 0.65, 95 % CI: 0.43, 0.98, I2 48 %), and hypertensive disorders (overall OR 0.51, 95 % CI: 0.31, 0.83, I2 0%). CONCLUSIONS: PA in pregnancy had a preventive effect on weight gain, gestational diabetes, and hypertensive disorders. Supervised exercise and static cycling had a protective effect on gestational weight gain. Variation in outcomes reported suggest establishing a core outcome set.
