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Background: Physical activity is an element of a healthy lifestyle and is safe in most pregnancies. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of physical activity levels before and during pregnancy on pregnancy outcomes for both the mother and child. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a population of Polish women. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed electronically via maternity and parental Facebook groups. Results: The final research group included 961 women. The analysis showed that physical activity 6 months before pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but physical activity during pregnancy showed no such association. In all, 37.8% of women with low activity in the first trimester, in comparison to 29.4% of adequately active women, gained an excessive amount of weight during pregnancy (p = 0.0306). The results showed no association between activity level and pregnancy duration, type of delivery or newborn birth weight. Conclusions: Our study indicates that physical activity during the preconception period is crucial to GDM occurrence.

Introduction: Ultrasound imaging is a safe, repeatable and easily available imaging procedure. Based on these qualities, it may become a useful tool for skin assessment in newborns. Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of high-frequency ultrasound imaging for neonatal skin assessment. Another aim was to identify differences in ultrasound features of the skin in newborns depending on the examination site, sex, age, birth weight, and arterial blood gas results. Material and method: A total of 72 newborns in the first 24 hours of life, without any skin lesions, were included in the study. All newborns underwent ultrasound skin examinations in three body sites (forearm, abdomen and thigh) during the first 24 hours of life. DermaMed Ultrasound Scanner with a 48 MHz probe was used for imaging. A total of three structures were identified in the ultrasound images: epidermal echo, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. The study assessed the thickness of the epidermis and dermis, and the echogenicity of the dermis and subcutaneous tissue. Data were analysed to determine possible links with sex, post-conceptional age, body weight, birth route, and results of umbilical cord blood gas analysis. Results: Depending on the body site examined, the mean epidermal thickness was 0.081 to 0.083 mm, while the mean thickness of the dermis ranged between 0.679 and 0.722 mm. The newborns with higher birth weights were shown to have a thicker epidermis regardless of the examined site [R (correlation coefficient) for the forearm: 0.47 (p