Women who feel depressed in pregnancy are more likely to sit down, which increases their risk of weight gain and diabetes, research suggests.

Experts at Warwick Medical School found that sitting down for around six hours a day during the second trimester led to greater weight gain and diabetes in pregnancy, which can harm both mother and baby.

WMS clinical research fellow Nithya Sukumar, who led the study of 1,263 women, presented her findings at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh.

She said: “Pregnant women could benefit from early intervention to improve their physical and mental health and reduce the risks associated with sedentary behaviour.

“Gestational diabetes can increase the risk of birth complications for the mother and baby and so it is important we minimise this risk by reducing the time that pregnant women spend sitting down.”

During the study, women were asked about their levels of physical activity and emotional well-being in the first trimester of pregnancy, and then again in the late stages of the second.

Overall, women who said they had symptoms of depression were more likely to sit down for longer periods.

Current advice is to aim for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week

Those who spent most of their time sitting down in the second trimester also took less exercise and gained significant amounts of weight between the first and second trimester.

Ponnusamy Saravanan, clinical professor and consultant physician in diabetes at WMS, said: “Encouraging women to take breaks from sitting down might be an easier public health policy to implement than increasing their physical activity during pregnancy.

“We believe reducing the sitting time has the potential to reduce pregnant women’s risk of gestational diabetes and reduce the metabolic risk factors of their newborns.”

A spokeswoman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said: “Exercise can have a positive impact on both physical and mental health, including relieving symptoms of stress and anxiety, and improve sleep.

“It can also reduce the risks associated with weight gain during pregnancy, including gestational diabetes, a condition which can lead to various complications for both the mother and baby.

“We encourage women to stay active both before and during pregnancy and the current advice is to aim for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week.”