Table 1. Main characteristics of participants a.
| Parameters | All live births (N= 132) | Exercisers before pregnancy (N=76) | Non- exercisers before pregnancy (N=56) | Exercisers during pregnancy (N=70) | Non exercisers during pregnancy (N=62) |
| Age (years) | 23±4.7 | 22±5.1 | 23±3.91 | 23±5.22 | 23±4.80 |
| Gestational duration (LMP in weeks) | 38.78±3.90 | 38.82±2.75 | 37.46±4.20 | 39.15±1.30 | 38.23±2.01 |
| Educational level Up to middle school | 11 (8.30%) | 6 (7.89%) | 5 (8.92%) | 6 (8.57%) | 5 (8.06%) |
| High school and diploma | 82 (62.12%) | 45 (59.21%) | 36 (64.28%) | 43 (61.42%) | 40 (64.51%) |
| University degree and above | 39 (29.54%) | 25 (32.89%) | 15 (26.78%) | 21 (30%) | 17 (27.41%) |
| Height (cm) | 162±6.61 | 162.42±6.92 | 163.10±6.32 | 163.13±6.62 | 162.13±6.73 |
| Pre pregnancy Weight (kg) | 61.23±10.61 | 61.71±10.33 | 60.39±11.39 | 63.51±12.40 | 59.45±9.17 |
| Pre pregnancy BMI (kg/m2) | 23.22±4 | 23.53±4.37 | 22.64±3.74 | 22.42±3.58b | 24.19±4.65b |
| maternal weight gain (kg) | 14.43±3.29 | 13.51±4.16 | 13.85±5.31 | 13.78±4.25 | 14.12±2.18 |
| Infant sex (%) | |||||
| Boy | 55.9% | 58.1% | 53.7% | 54.2% | 57.6% |
| girl | 44.1% | 41.9% | 46.3% | 45.8% | 42.4% |
| Type of delivery | |||||
| Vaginal | 56% | 29.41% | 19.11% | 29.85% | 20.84% |
| Cesarean | 76% | 29.41% | 22.05 | 26.85% | 22.05% |
| Birth weight (kg) | 3.06±0.58 | 3.21±0.53 | 2.88±0.60 | 3.23±0.40 | 2.91±0.36 |
a LMP= according to last menstrual period, cm=centimeter, kg=kilogram,
b significant difference between BMI of exercisers and non exercisers during pregnancy (p<0.05)