If you are on Instagram, you most likely have across videos of heavily expectant mothers in the gym burning calories away.

Now findings from a new study by researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada has found that high-intensity interval training during pregnancy poses little risk to expecting mothers and their babies.

The study which was led by Jenna Wowdzia, a master’s student at the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health compared maternal and fetal cardiovascular responses to high-intensity interval training as well as moderate-intensity continuous training.

Margie Davenport, the study’s senior author and pregnancy researcher in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation explained that they were looking at how the baby responded.

“What was novel about this study is that we were looking at how the baby responded to high-intensity exercise.

We looked at responses in terms of the fetus’s heart rate and also the blood flow that was going to the fetus, so we can see if they were getting enough blood flow, oxygen and nutrients,” she said.

The expert observes that high-intensity interval training is a top fitness trend with a growing number of people interested in continuing this type of training during pregnancy.

This is why for the study, high-intensity exercise was done through ten one-minute bouts of interval workouts above 90 percent of maximum effort with one minute of active recovery. Moderate-intensity exercise was measured with a 30-minute workout.

Ms Margie previously led the development of the 2019 Canadian Guideline for Physical Activity During Pregnancy  for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada and Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology.

To develop the guideline, Davenport surveyed all available literature to look at whether exercise during pregnancy is safe and beneficial for both mother and baby.

“With those systematic reviews and with those guidelines we actually found really impactful information,” she said.

“Engaging in physical activity and exercise during pregnancy is associated with a 40 per cent reduction in the risk of developing major pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension, and there is no negative impact on the baby.”

Early small-scale studies that suggested longer-duration progressive exercise to maximal levels had some potential adverse effects led to a broad recommendation not to exceed 90 per cent of maximal exercise at any point during pregnancy according to Ms Margie.

“This (study) certainly opens up the area in terms of future research to be able to really look at this high-intensity exercise,” she noted. “Without that research, we really can’t change or evolve guidelines. This is the first key step to be able to re-envision what those physical activity guidelines look like.”