Exercising up to the end of pregnancy has no harmful effect on the weight or size of a baby, a new study has found. According to researchers from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, low-level physical activity during pregnancy has positive effects on the health of both mother and baby. The study of 160 healthy women aged 25 to 35, also found that women who were overweight before becoming pregnant, and did not partake in any exercise, gave birth to heavier newborns.

According to experts, babies with excessive weight (more than 4 kg) are more at risk of developing diabetes and certain types of cancer as adults, in addition to complications that may occur at birth. “An exercise regime carried out during the second and third trimester of pregnancy does not harm the health of the foetus,” the researchers said. “Sedentary mothers of higher pre-gestational weight gave birth to heavier newborns. This relationship, however, was not observed in the group of women who exercised during pregnancy.