{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,27]],"date-time":"2026-10-27T03:10:27Z","timestamp":1793070627591,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,23]],"date-time":"2023-11-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1700697600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>There has been a dramatic worldwide increase in the prevalence of obesity or overweight and physical inactivity in women of reproductive age. Growing evidence suggests that pre-pregnancy maternal abnormal body mass index (BMI) and lower physical activity level are associated with poor maternal health and perinatal outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess how self-perceived exercise and pre-pregnancy BMI are associated with preterm birth, low birth weight, and type of birth. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of 394 Polish women in the postpartum period. We used a questionnaire with the structure of the medical interview. To analyze factors related to birth outcomes, we used the Pearson\u2019s Chi-squared test of independence and odds ratio (OR), with a corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), followed by a multiple logistic regression. Women who reported being physically active before pregnancy (p = 0.00) and during pregnancy (p = 0.03) were more likely to give birth on time and had a lower incidence of very-premature and extremely premature births compared to inactive women. Importantly, they were more likely to have vaginal birth (p = 0.03). Pre-pregnancy BMI influenced the week of delivery, i.e., inadequate, too-high BMI contributed to an increase in the percentage of premature births [OR (95% CI) = 1.19 (1.06; 1.34)]. The findings indicate that promoting physical activity and weight management remains a priority in public health policy, and women of childbearing age should be encouraged to adopt or maintain an active and healthy lifestyle during pregnancy in order to avoid sedentary- and obesity-associated risks affecting birth and newborns\u2019 health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu15234894","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,23]],"date-time":"2023-11-23T06:06:23Z","timestamp":1700719583000},"page":"4894","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Can Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index and Maternal Exercise Affect Birth and Neonatal Outcomes\u2014A Cross Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8565-027X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna Weronika","family":"Szablewska","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetric and Gynaecological Nursing, Institute of Nursing and Midwifery, Medical University of Gdansk, Debinki 7, 80-211 Gdansk, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jolanta","family":"Wierzba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric and Internal Medicine Nursing, Institute of Nursing and Midwifery, Medical University of Gdansk, Debinki 7, 80-211 Gdansk, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7188-8383","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rita","family":"Santos-Rocha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ESDRM Department of Physical Activity and Health, Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior, Polytechnic Institute of Santar\u00e9m, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal"},{"name":"CIPER Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance, Faculty of Human Kinetics (FMH), University of Lisbon, 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3777-5697","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Szumilewicz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Culture, Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"571","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2016-096218","article-title":"Exercise and pregnancy in recreational and elite athletes: 2016 evidence summary from the IOC expert group meeting, Lausanne. 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