Abstract
Epidemiological studies robustly show the beneficial effects of maternal exercise in reducing maternal birth complications and improving neonatal outcomes, though underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. To facilitate mechanistic exploration, a protocol for maternal exercise of mice is established, with the regimen following the exercise guidelines for pregnant women. Compared to volunteer wheel running, treadmill running allows precise control of exercise intensity and duration, dramatically reducing variations among individual mouse within treatments and facilitating translation into maternal exercise in humans. Based on the maximal oxygen consumption rate (VO(2)max) before pregnancy, the treadmill exercise protocol is separated into three stages: early stage (E1.5 to E7.5 at 40% VO(2)max), mid stage (E8.5 to E14.5 at 65% VO(2)max), and late stage of pregnancy (E15.5 to birth at 50% VO(2)max), which demonstrated persistent beneficial effects on maternal health and fetal development. This protocol can be useful for standardizing maternal treadmill exercise using mice as an experimental model.