Exercise in Pregnancy for Baby's Brain?
Could Exercise During Pregnancy Benefit Your Baby Into Childhood? What the Latest Research Shows
Written by Dr. Fiona Callender, ND and pelvic therapist. Dr. Fiona supports our patients from fertility to postpartum, helping them navigate the unknowns and cut through the online noise.
When we talk about exercise during pregnancy, we often focus on the benefits for the person who is pregnant: reduced back pain, better mood/reduced risk of depression, improved sleep, lower risk of gestational diabetes, lower risk of preeclampsia and an easier recovery postpartum.
Those benefits are huge - and important.
But emerging research is expanding the conversation. It suggests that being physically active before and during pregnancy may also support your baby's development, with benefits that could extend well beyond birth.
While no single study can tell the whole story, this growing body of evidence is another compelling reason to think of movement as an investment in both your health and your baby's.
What Does the New Research Show?
A large 2026 study found that maternal physical activity before and during pregnancy was associated with improved neurodevelopment in children, particularly during infancy and the first few years of life.
The strongest and most consistent findings were seen in motor development during infancy, but researchers also found encouraging associations with cognitive development into early childhood.
Of course, these findings don't mean exercise guarantees advanced development or that children whose parents couldn't exercise are doomed to be behind - child development is influenced by numerous factors. That said, it’s motivating to see research continuing to suggest that exercise is not only safe, but actually beneficial for baby’s health and development.
How Was Development Measured?
Researchers used the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3), a screening tool that assesses development from infancy through early childhood.
The ASQ-3 evaluates five important areas of development:
Communication: babbling, language development, listening and understanding
Gross motor: rolling, crawling, walking, and larger body movements
Fine motor: hand coordination and finger movements
Problem solving: learning, exploring, and early cognitive skills
Personal-social: interacting with caregivers, toys, and eventually other children
Exercise Before Pregnancy May Matter Too
One of the more interesting findings was that physical activity before pregnancy appeared to be associated with higher developmental scores across all five domains at six months of age. The problem-solving skills, specifically, stayed high up to 3 years of age.
This reinforces something I am often talking about with my fertility patients at the clinic - preparing for pregnancy doesn't start with a positive pregnancy test. Supporting your health beforehand can have lasting effects for your health and pregnancy experience, but also the health of your baby.
Staying Active During Pregnancy Was Also Associated With Better Developmental Outcomes
The researchers also found that higher levels of physical activity mid-way through pregnancy were also associated with greater chances of good developmental scores. We saw the biggest effect in motor development (both gross motor and fine motor skills - think, movements like crawling and pulling themselves up, but also grasping, pinching, coordinating eye movements with hand movements etc. ) - as well as problem-solving skills.
While these are associations and not proof that exercise directly causes these improvements, they add to the growing evidence that supports the importance of movement and exercise throughout pregnancy.
How Could Exercise Affect Baby's Brain Development?
Researchers are still working to understand exactly why these associations exist, but there are several working theories:
Exercise reduces inflammation
Regular physical activity helps lower inflammatory markers throughout the body. Since inflammation can influence fetal brain development, creating a lower-inflammatory environment may support healthy neurological development.
Exercise improves blood flow
Exercise helps blood vessels function more efficiently, improving circulation throughout the body, including to the placenta. Better blood flow means oxygen and nutrients are delivered more effectively to your growing baby, supporting healthy growth and development.
Exercise may create a healthier intrauterine environment
Physical activity influences maternal metabolism, cardiovascular health, and hormone regulation. Together, these changes may help optimize the environment in which the baby's brain and nervous system are developing. Exercise is also associated with healthier pregnancy and labour outcomes, which may indirectly contribute to early infant development.
Do The Benefits Continue Past Childhood?
The associations seemed to be the strongest during infancy and early toddlerhood - though they studies children up to age 8. After about age 3, it starts to get a little more challenging to study. This is an age where many other influences start to play a bigger role in shaping a child's development. These factors might include:
Home environment
Family income
Access to childcare and early education
Sleep habits
Nutrition
Opportunities for play and learning
Parental interaction and education
As children grow, these environmental factors naturally have a larger impact, making it harder to isolate the influence of prenatal exercise alone. That doesn't mean prenatal exercise doesn’t still have an effect, but child development simply becomes increasingly complex over time.
What This Means For Expecting Parents
Though this can be a great push to start exercising - many find it easier to motivate themselves if it’s for their baby versus for themselves (but don’t forget that your health matters too!) - these findings don’t mean that this exercise routine has to be perfect. It’s not always easy when balancing pregnancy symptoms, discomfort, a job, and possibly caring for another little one. Consistency matters more than intensity or perfection here.
Every walk, strength workout, swim, yoga class, or dance session is an opportunity to support your own physical and mental health while potentially creating an environment that helps your baby thrive.
The goal is consistency.
Even moderate physical activity, performed regularly and adjusted for your stage of pregnancy, can provide meaningful benefits.
The Bottom Line
We're continuing to learn more about how pregnancy shapes lifelong health, and this research adds another exciting piece to the puzzle. Exercise during pregnancy is finally being recommended more consistently and being understood as a safe and less risky option than being sedentary. It’s exciting and motivating to see continued evidence showing that it’s not only safe, but beneficial to a child’s motor and cognitive development during the earliest years of life.
If you're pregnant, or planning for a pregnancy, and you're unsure what type of exercise is safe for you, working with a healthcare provider who understands the benefits of prenatal exercise can help you create a plan that fits your body, your pregnancy, and your goals.
Movement isn't just an investment in your own health, it's an investment in your growing family.