Women who start a moderate exercise programme during early pregnancy may improve their likelihood of giving birth to a healthy baby, according to the results of a new study.

Dr James Clapp, professor of reproductive biology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and colleagues studied 46 women who were not exercising regularly and were 8 weeks pregnant. The women were randomly asked to undertake either moderate weight bearing exercise three to five times a week (n=22) or no exercise for the …