Regular exercise during pregnancy cuts the risk of Caesarean section by 20 per cent.
That's according to a new report by Canadian researchers, who also say keeping active can reduce your likelihood of giving birth to a large baby by a third.
The scientists, who studied the records of more than 5,000 women, now believe that promoting maternal exercise could help curb childhood obesity.
"We found that women who exercised had a 31 per cent reduction in the risk of having a large baby without changing the risk of having a small baby or an earlier baby." said Margi Davenport, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta.
"The findings are important because babies who are born large tend to be heavier as children and into adulthood."
