Whether at a young age or at an older age, exercise can reduce the risk of congenital heart disease in newborns as the pregnant rat ages. Therefore, even if the offspring carries the mutation, interventions for the mother may be effective in reducing the risk of congenital heart disease in newborns. Recently, researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine published their latest study in the international academic journal Nature, they found that exercise can reduce the risk of congenital heart disease in newborns caused by maternal age. Although medical conditions have improved greatly and clinical research on congenital heart disease has made great progress, congenital heart disease is still a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. Some studies have shown that even if a newborn does not have any chromosomal abnormality, his or her risk of developing congenital heart disease is still affected by maternal age. However, it remains unclear whether this risk is related to the mother or the oocyte. In this study, researchers used mouse pups carrying a mutation in the cardiac transcription factor Nkx2-5 to model the effect of maternal age on the risk of congenital heart disease in newborns. To determine whether the effect of maternal age on congenital heart disease in newborns was related to the mother or to her oocytes, the researchers performed reciprocal ovary transplants between young and old females to create an assessment model in mice that measured the risk of congenital heart disease associated with age. Since a high-fat diet does not accelerate aging in pregnant mice, hyperglycemia and obesity do not explain this mechanism. This age-related risk varied depending on the background of the female rat strain, which makes this risk a quantifiable genetic trait. Most notably, the risk of congenital heart disease in newborns was reduced by exercise in both younger and older pregnant mice as they aged. Thus, even if the offspring carries the mutation in question, relevant interventions for the mother may be effective in reducing the risk of congenital heart disease in the newborn.