Impact of Prenatal Activity on Child Growth Trajectories: Findings from the APrON Study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the impact of prenatal physical activity on child growth from birth to 3 years.

METHODS

Data were obtained from a subset of the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition cohort ( N = 1725). Prenatal physical activity was evaluated using the Baecke Questionnaire in the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy and separate trajectories of latent clusters of total, work, leisure, and sports activity scores were generated (group 1 = lowest activity; group 3 = highest activity). Child weight and length/height were collected from birth to 36 months. Multitrajectory modeling identified four latent clusters of child growth based on World Health Organization Z scores of length/height, weight, and body mass index (kg/m 2 ). Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the associations (relative risk ratio; RRR) between prenatal activity and child growth.

RESULTS

Infants were classified into four latent growth trajectories: low length low weight (18.7%), reference (41.2%), low length moderate weight (16.0%), and high length high weight (24.2%). Maternal total activity was not associated with child growth trajectory. Higher work activity was associated with increased risk of low length low weight trajectory (group 2, RRR: 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.89, P = 0.02; group 3, RRR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.05-2.18; P = 0.02), persisting after adjustment (group 2, adjRRR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.08-2.03, P = 0.02; group 3, adjRRR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.09-2.37; P = 0.02). Higher maternal sports activity was linked to low weight low length trajectory following adjustment for maternal demographic variables, but not gestational age at birth. High prenatal leisure activity was associated with an increased likelihood of child classification in the low length moderate weight trajectory in crude (RRR: 1.66; 95% CI: 0.98-2.82; P = 0.06) and adjusted (adjRRR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.01-2.95; P = 0.04) analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Physical activity domains during pregnancy are differently related to child growth trajectories.