title: Evaluation of pregnant female injury risk during everyday activities.
abstract: Exercise is encouraged for the pregnant female, but there are no data available indicating the risk of fetal loss associated with the level of exercise. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk of fetal loss by simulating exercises using the pregnant computational model. A previously validated MADYMO computer model of a 30-week pregnant female has proven a useful tool in calculating the risk of adverse fetal outcome. Four small female nonpregnant volunteers performed six activities including sitting in a chair normally, walking at 1.3 m/s, running at 2.7 m/s, performing jumping jacks, achieving maximum vertical leap in place, and jumping off of a step 20 cm high. The results for this study are 12 simulations with an average risk of fetal loss equal to 10.0 +/- 4.1%. The minimum risk from the simulations is 3.1% for walking and the maximum risk is 18.8% for running. The low impact exercises have effectively no risk when taken in context with the validation of the computational model from motor vehicle crash data. However, the pregnant female can have an appreciable risk of adverse fetal outcome for the higher impact activities. In conclusion, this study confirms a low risk of adverse fetal outcome for a healthy pregnant female during low impact exercise events.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Tech - Wake Forest, Center for Injury Biomechanics, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Manoogian
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Moorcroft
authors.forename: Stefan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Duma