Exercise FITT-V during pregnancy: 1-month infant neuromotor outcomes

Kara Kern; Alex Claiborne; Filip Jevtovic; Breanna Wisseman; Dylan Steen; Cody Strom; Ashton Lilley; Edward Newton; James Devente; Steven Mouro; David Collier; Katrina D Dubose; Amy Gross McMillan; Rachel Tinius; Swati Surkar; Linda E May

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2025.102069

Exercise FITT-V during pregnancy: 1-month infant neuromotor outcomes

Infant Behav Dev. 2025 Jun 29:80:102069. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2025.102069. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina University (ECU), Greenville, NC, USA; Human Performance Laboratory, ECU, Greenville, NC, USA.
² Department of Kinesiology and Sport, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, IN, Greenville, NC, USA.
³ Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina University (ECU), Greenville, NC, USA.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
⁶ Department of Physical Therapy, ECU, Greenville, NC, USA.
⁷ School of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport, 1059 Smith Stadium, 1906 College Heights Blvd., 11089, USA.
⁸ Department of Physical Therapy, College of Allied Health Sciences, East Carolina University, Office: 2405G, Mail Stop: 668, Greenville, NC 27834, USA.
⁹ Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina University (ECU), Greenville, NC, USA; Human Performance Laboratory, ECU, Greenville, NC, USA; Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA. Electronic address: mayl@ecu.edu.

PMID: 40587917
DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2025.102069

Abstract

Background: Despite decades of research documenting health benefits from exercise during pregnancy, it remains unknown how prenatal exercise affects infant neuromotor skill development.

Objectives: To examine the effects of exercise modes, and maternal exercise metrics; frequency, intensity, time, type, and volume (FITT-V) during pregnancy on infant gross motor skills. We hypothesized that 1 month old infants of mothers who exercised during pregnancy would exhibit more developed gross motor skills compared to infants of mothers who did not exercise during pregnancy. Further, we hypothesized that infant gross motor skills will be directly associated with maternal exercise frequency, volume, and duration.

Materials & methods: Healthy pregnant women between 18 and 40 years were randomized to one of four groups: aerobic, resistance, combination exercise, or no exercise. Infant neuromotor skills (n = 162) were measured at 1 month of age using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, 2nd Edition (PDMS-2).

Results: Locomotion subtest percentile for infants born to exercising mothers trended higher than infants of controls (p = .09), while exercise group allocation did not affect outcomes. Infants born to women who averaged > 4 METs (n = 35) exercise intensity during each session showed a higher overall Gross Motor Quotient (GMQ) percentile score (p = .02).

Conclusion: While we found no relationship for maternal exercise frequency, volume or duration during pregnancy, exercise intensity shows an intensity-dependent association with increased locomotor skills in 1 month old infants.

Keywords: Exercise; Infant development; Motor skills; Pregnant.