(P18-049-23) Maternal Physical Activity During Pregnancy Linked With Better Receptive and Expressive Communications in Toddlers

Objectives: Existing literature discusses the health benefits pregnant women can achieve by engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. However, there is limited and inconsistent work on the association between maternal physical activity and neuro-development in infants and toddlers. We explored the relationship between maternal physical activity and cognitive, language, and motor abilities among toddlers.

Methods: Mothers (N = 43) reported their involvement in various physical activities using the Lifetime Physical Activity Questionnaire. Maternal physical activity was calculated for leisure time and household physical activities before, during pregnancy and, postpartum. The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development IV Screening Test (BSID-IV) was administrated to assess cognitive, language, and motor abilities in 12-18 month-old toddlers. Partial correlations were conducted adjusting for, toddler test age (months), toddler birth weight (grams), toddler skin carotenoid levels, maternal BMI during conception, and maternal education level.

Results: Mean ± SD for leisure time physical before pregnancy was 551 ± 415 minutes/week, during pregnancy was 276 ± 206 minutes/week and postpartum was 242 ± 192 minutes/week. Household physical activities total time before pregnancy was 1890 ± 1662 minutes/week, during pregnancy was 1367 ± 1331 minutes/week and postpartum was 2854 ± 1775 minutes/week. No significant associations were observed between BSID-IV cognitive or motor abilities and leisure time and household physical activities before and during pregnancy, or postpartum. However, leisure time activities during pregnancy showed a positive association with toddlers’ receptive (rho = 0.44, p </em>= 0.01) and expressive communication (rho = 0.39, p = 0.025).

Conclusions: Greater maternal engagement in leisure time activities during pregnancy was associated with better receptive and expressive communication in toddlers. These findings point to the importance of being physically active during pregnancy for the development of language skills in early childhood. Future intervention studies are needed to determine the effect of physical activity during pregnancy on early development of language in toddlers.

Funding Sources: This study was funded by the Egg Nutrition Center.