Background: Most women who report increased levels of physical activity are not at an increased risk of preterm delivery or reduced intrauterine growth. This study was conducted to look into the safety and effects of regularly timed aerobic exercises during pregnancy on both the mother and the neonate.Methods: A prospective, case-control study was done on 120 healthy pregnant women in their first trimester. The data were collected in the prenatal outpatient care, labor and delivery rooms of a university-based Obstetrics Department. After completing basic information forms, the pregnant women were educated on the specific exercises in 8 stages throughout the pregnancy. Sixty-three patients presenting for delivery without any history of physical exercise were selected as the control group.Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding their occupation. The exercising group experienced significantly decreased durations of labor. There was no significant difference in neonatal birth weight or apgar scores. There were a significant decreased number of assisted deliveries in the exercising group.Conclusion: Exercise during pregnancy shortens the duration of the second stage of labor and reduces the risk of assisted delivery while is safe for the neonate too.

risin is a bridge between physical activity and cognitive performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of swimming in cold water for six weeks on irisin expression in brain tissue and cognitive function. 25 male Wistar rats were purchased from Pasteur Institute and transferred to the research center and randomly divided into three groups: swimming in water with normal temperature (28 degrees), swimming in cold water (15 degrees) and control group. Training rats swam 3 days a week for 6 weeks in the form of intervals. 48 hours after the last training session, rats were anesthetized and sacrificed through intraperitoneal injection of xylazine and ketamine and their brain tissue was taken. Then the ELISA method was used to measure the irisin gene. One-way ANOVA test was used to analyze the findings. The results showed that six weeks of swimming improved cognitive performance compared to the control group (p<0.01). Also, brain tissue irisin levels were significantly increased in two training groups compared to the control group (swimming group in water with normal temperature and swimming in cold water, respectively, p<0.05 and p<0.07). In addition, the irisin changes of the group swimming in cold water were significantly higher than the group swimming in normal temperature water (p<0.002). It seems that irisin can be a bridge between exercise activity and improving cognitive function. So that, exposure to cold can increase the effect of exercise activity on irisin and, as a result, cause further improvement in cognitive function.

Background and objective: Self-esteem is the most important factor in the spiritual growth and has an important effect on the mental process, emotion, aptitude, values and goal of person. Sport makes the person feel self sufficient and increase his/her efficiency. The sufficiency and efficiency can cause a feel in control of life and enhance self-esteem. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of regular exercise program on self esteem of nursing students.Methods: This clinical trial study was done on 80 students who lived in a dormitory. They were randomly divided into control and case groups. In case group, regular exercise program was done for 8 weeks and in control group no interference occurred. The amount of self esteem was measured before and after study and compared to each other. Coppersmith self esteem scale was used in this study.Findings: The mean of nursing students’ self esteem in case group before and after regular exercise program was 93.1±8.2 and 111.4±8.1, respectively and in control group before interference was 91.2±7.9 and in the end of study was 92.4±6.3. Also, the results showed that after interference, the difference in the average for self esteem scores in control and case groups was -1.5±3.8 and 9.9±4, respectively. The differences in the average of self esteem scores in case and control groups were statistically significant (p<0.001(.Conclusion: the results showed that regular exercise program can increase student’s self esteem. So, considering fulfillment facility, benefits of physical activity and no serious side effect, using sport as a factor for enhancing self esteem and physical and mental health of students is suggested.