Traditionally, women have been warned to take it easy during pregnancy due to concerns about miscarriage, early labour and other complications. As a result, many gave up the sports they loved for gentle activities like walking, and elite athletes were benched. “There’s been a lot of fear-based messaging and information about exercise and pregnancy,” says exercise physiologist Dr. Margie Davenport, a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, who has studied exercise in pregnancy for the last 25 years. But when she led the development of the Canadian guideline for physical activity throughout pregnancy, she discovered that most of the restrictions were based on theoretical risk, not actual evidence. After an extensive review of the research, Davenport and her team at the University of Alberta created the first fully evidence-based guidelines for exercise during pregnancy. They demonstrated that rather than being a risk to maternal and neonatal health, physical activity was associated with profound health benefits — including a 40-per-cent reduction in the odds of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and excessive weight gain. They recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week — the same as for any Canadian adult aged 18 to 79. But Davenport, who holds the inaugural Christenson Professorship in Healthy Active Living, saw a gap in the research. There was very little information for pregnant athletes or anyone who wanted to do much more than walk, she says. Around that time, she noticed more elite and professional athletes refusing to be benched in pregnancy and continuing to train anyway. This was no surprise to Davenport, a former member of Canada’s national synchronized swimming team, who keenly understands the importance of exercise to athletes. Spreading awareness is so important, especially when we’re talking about something that is still so poorly understood. I strongly believe that everybody deserves to be empowered to make the choice that’s best for them. — Dr. Margie Davenport With support from the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI), Davenport began studying what had long been discouraged: high-intensity interval training and heavy weightlifting during pregnancy. She and her team directly monitored fetuses while their mothers exercised and discovered that it was well-tolerated. After publishing the first studies in this area, Davenport and her lab — the Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health — have continued to explore the impact of high-intensity exercise in pregnancy. One study, published in May, explored climbing, a sport often discouraged during pregnancy due to the risk of falls, yet never formally studied. Her team surveyed nearly 700 pregnant climbers worldwide and found no adverse effects. Davenport has also studied the potential risks of decreased activity during pregnancy and, in a survey of 1,000 postpartum athletes, found that those who reduced their activity by 50 per cent or more were almost twice as likely to experience injury after childbirth. Davenport explains that a substantial reduction in activity can be detrimental to muscle and bone health, which already suffers as a result of pregnancy. On average, women lose six per cent of bone mineral density during pregnancy, possibly as a result of hormone changes, nutritional deficits, or a reduction in load-bearing activity. Decreased activity can also be detrimental to the mental health of athletes, for whom sport is an important part of their identity. But since general guidelines have limited relevance to athletes, it can be very difficult for them to weigh the risks and benefits of training during pregnancy. Davenport is committed to changing this. In addition to adding to the body of research on pregnant and postpartum athletes, she is leading the development of the 2026 International Olympic Committee Consensus Statement on Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum in Athletes, and has developed screening tools to assist health and fitness professionals supporting pregnant athletes, including one for FIFA, the international soccer federation. WCHRI has played an important role throughout Davenport’s career, amplifying her work through student support, seed funding and visibility. She notes that many of her trainees have received WCHRI support themselves and gone on to win national scholarships. Media connections fostered through WCHRI have also helped disseminate research to the general public. “Increasing the visibility and spreading awareness is so important, especially when we’re talking about something that is still so poorly understood,” says Davenport, who often receives emails from pregnant women nervous about exercising and unaware of research. “I strongly believe that everybody deserves to be empowered to make the choice that’s best for them.” Story by Caitlin Crawshaw By providing the research infrastructure, seed money and trainees required for ambitious clinical studies, WCHRI empowers researchers to test long-discouraged pregnancy taboos. This specialized ecosystem backstops global breakthroughs, such as Dr. Margie Davenport's development of the world’s first stand-alone guidelines on postpartum exercise and sleep. Dr. Margie Davenport was recently honoured with the 2026 Mid-Career Excellence in Women’s Health award by the Partnership for Women’s Health Research (PWHR). Her research is supported by the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation through WCHRI.
Photos Supplied Perinatal research powerhouse
