Background/Aim: With an increase in cardiac output, blood pressure values in
pregnancy increase. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of prenatal
exercises on the circulatory parameters and the correlation between blood
pressure and nailfold capillary parameters in healthy pregnant women.
Methods: The blood pressure shape and length of nailfold capillary were assessed in 35 non-exercising pregnant women and 35 pregnant women who exercised, at the beginning of the study (between 20 and 32 gestational week) and
the end of the study (28 – 40 gestational week).
Results: The elevation in blood pressure was significantly lower in pregnant
women who exercised in relation to non-exercising pregnant women. After
eight weeks, the length of the capillary loops was increased by 30 µm and the
number of pregnant women with pronounced shape changes of capillary loops
increased, with no difference between the groups. Non-exercisers had a correlation between the change in diastolic pressure and the increase in capillary
length (r = 0.53, p = 0.001). In the experimental group, the correlation between
the change in blood pressure and the increase in the length of capillary loops
was not determined.
Conclusion: Prenatal physical activity had a beneficial impact on the circulation of pregnant women. In pregnant women in the third trimester, after eight
weeks of follow-up, the length of the nailfold capillary loops and the presence of
pronounced shape changes of capillary loops were increased, without difference between exercisers and non-exercisers. In non-exercising pregnant women, the capillary length was increased with the elevation of diastolic blood pressure, while the correlation was not found in pregnant women who exercised.
