Funding outcome

Despite the well-established benefits of exercise during pregnancy, recent data suggest that 85% of women in Alberta fail to meet current guidelines for exercise during pregnancy. At the same time, women tend to become increasingly sedentary during pregnancy. Common sedentary activities include sitting while driving a car, working at a computer or watching TV. In non-pregnant populations, too much sedentary time is independently linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. An important component of cardiovascular health is vascular (artery) health. Furthermore, vascular dysfunction is believed to precede the development of pregnancy related complications, such as preeclampsia and pregnancy induced hypertension. During healthy pregnancy, an aerobic exercise intervention was found to improve vascular health. However, the impact of sedentary behaviour on vascular health has yet to be examined during pregnancy. Therefore, the purpose of the proposed project is to examine the relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and vascular health. Specifically, I will be using a non-invasive measure of peripheral artery health, flow mediated dilation (which is predictive of future cardiovascular disease), as well as objectively collected measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour to explore the impact of maternal activity patterns on cardiovascular health. This study will be the first to assess the impact of these behaviours on vascular health during pregnancy. If sedentary behaviour is found to be independently associated with vascular health, interventions aimed at reducing sedentary time may be an easier more realistic behaviour to target during pregnancy with significant health benefits.