Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-xq9c7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-21T12:16:28.220Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of exercise on maternal and foetal heart rate in pregnant mares

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

RC Causey ,
RA Lehnhard ,
KA Finucane  and
TM Oliver
RC Causey*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and the Maine Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04 469-5735, USA
RA Lehnhard
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and the Maine Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04 469-5735, USA Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04 469-5766, USA
KA Finucane
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and the Maine Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04 469-5735, USA
TM Oliver
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and the Maine Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04 469-5735, USA
*
*robert.causey@umit.maine.edu
Get access

Abstract

Pregnant mares are often removed from work during gestation. However, little is known about the effects of exercise on the pregnant mare and her foetus. In the present study, maternal and foetal heart rates were monitored by electrocardiography before and after exercise in four equine pregnancies (days 250–285). Exercise consisted of lungeing mares in 20 m circles for 5, 10 and 20 min. Following exercise, significant increases in maternal heart rate were detected (P<0.0001) but not in foetal heart rate (P = 0.4331). All mares gave birth to normal foals uneventfully. While these findings suggest that moderate exercise of the pregnant mare does not appear to be harmful to the equine foetus, data are insufficient to draw conclusions. A larger, more controlled study is necessary.

Keywords

equinefoetusexerciseelectrocardiographypregnancy
Type
Short Communication
Information
Equine and Comparative Exercise Physiology , Volume 2 , Issue 4 , November 2005 , pp. 225 - 228
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Davies, GA, Wolfe, LA, Mottola, MF, MacKinnon, C, Arsenault, MY, Bartellas, E et al. (2003). Exercise in pregnancy and the postpartum period. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada 25: 516–529.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Brown, W (2002). The benefits of physical activity during pregnancy. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 5: 37–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Kramer, MS (2002). Aerobic exercise for women during pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews [electronic resource] (2): CD000180.Google ScholarPubMed
4Clapp, JF (2000). Exercise during pregnancy. A clinical update. Clinics in Sports Medicine 19: 273–286.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Carmichael, SL, Shaw, GM, Neri, E, Schaffer, DM and Selvin, S (2002). Physical activity and risk of neural tube defects. Maternal and Child Health Journal 6: 151–157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Wolfe, LA and Weissgerber, TL (2003). Clinical physiology of exercise in pregnancy: a literature review. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada 25: 473–483.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Brenner, IK, Wolfe, LA, Monga, M and McGrath, MJ (1999). Physical conditioning effects on fetal heart rate responses to graded maternal exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 31: 792–799.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8Clapp, JF, Little, KD and Capeless, EL (1993). Fetal heart rate response to sustained recreational exercise. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 168: 198–206.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Clapp, JF (2003). The effects of maternal exercise on fetal oxygenation and feto-placental growth. European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology 110 Suppl. 1: S80–S85CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10Kennelly, MM, McCaffrey, N, McLoughlin, P, Lyons, S and McKenna, P (2002). Fetal heart rate response to strenuous maternal exercise: not a predictor of fetal distress. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 187: 811–816.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11Adams-Brendemuehl, C and Pipers, FS (1987). Antepartum evaluations of the equine fetus Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. Supplement 35: 565–573.Google ScholarPubMed
12Sweha, A, Hacker, TW and Nuovo, J (1999). Interpretation of the electronic fetal heart rate during labor. American Family Physician 59: 2487–2500.Google ScholarPubMed
13Schott, HC (1993). Assessment of fetal well-being. In: McKinnon, AO & Voss, JL (eds), Equine Reproduction. Malvern, PA: Lea & Febiger, (pp. 964–975).Google Scholar
14Alexander, JM, McIntire, DM and Leveno, KJ (1999). Chorioamnionitis and the prognosis for term infants. Obstetrics and Gynecology 94: 274–278.Google ScholarPubMed
15Churgay, CA, Smith, MA and Blok, B (1994). Maternal fever during labor—what does it mean? Journal of the American Board of Family Practice 7: 14–24.Google ScholarPubMed
16Hernandez, C, Little, BB, Dax, JS, Gilstrap, LC and Rosenfeld, CR (1993). Prediction of the severity of meconium aspiration syndrome. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 169: 61–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Hanson, RR and Todhunter, RJ (1986). Herniation of the abdominal wall in pregnant mares. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 189: 790–793.Google ScholarPubMed
18Jackson, PGG (1982). Rupture of the prepubic tendon in a shire mare. Veterinary Record 111: 38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar