Physical Activity Patterns During Pregnancy in a Sample of Portuguese Women: A Longitudinal Prospective Study

Abstract

BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) patterns during pregnancy have not been explored in depth and most previous studies lack assessment of variables such as type, frequency, duration and intensity of activity.ObjectivesThis study had two goals: 1) to analyze PA patterns during pregnancy according to weekly time spent on different types of activity; and 2) to determine women’s perception about health care providers regarding PA advisement during pregnancy.Patients and MethodsA longitudinal prospective study was carried out with a 118-pregnant women cohort. Participants were evaluated during all trimesters. Self-reported questionnaires were used to collect personal and obstetric data. Type, duration and frequency of PA were evaluated using the pregnancy physical activity questionnaire (PPAQ) and intensity levels were calculated. Repeated measure analysis of variance was performed to determine differences between trimesters, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed when appropriate.ResultsA decrease in values of self-reported PA (MET.h.wk-1) was found from the first to the second and the first to the third trimester of pregnancy, respectively; total (270.91 vs 220.54 vs 210.35; P < 0.01), light (109.45 vs 95.11vs 92.40; P < 0.01) and moderate intensity (81.99 vs 50.69 vs 62.94; P = 0.002). Time spent on most activities remained fairly stable throughout pregnancy. Women spent most of their weekly time during the entire pregnancy on household and caregiving activities, occupational activities and leisure, except sport activities. Swimming was the most reported organized PA, reaching its highest proportion (12.7%) in the second trimester. Prenatal exercise classes were reported by 39.8% of women during the 3rd trimester. Pregnant women reported that PA was recommended by health professionals: 53.9% in the 1st trimester, 70.4% in the 2nd trimester and 56.8% in the 3rd trimester.ConclusionsSelf-reported PA decreased, especially from the first to the second trimester, in total, light and moderate intensity. Women spent most of their weekly time on domestic, occupational and leisure activities, except sport activities. There are some health care providers that do not recommend physical activity during pregnancy.

Longitudinal study of physical activity using an accelerometer in Japanese pregnant women

“…In this study, the MVPA of employed pregnant women was 45.4-55.1 min, and the MVPA of nonemployed pregnant women was 30.9-36.9 min, similar to the findings of Kawajiri et al Overall, we did not find any statistically significant change in PA (METs/hr) between the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy. Contrary to our finding, several studies have reported a reduction in the amount of PA from the 2nd to the 3rd trimester (Borodulin et al, 2009;Chasan-Taber et al, 2004;Nascimento et al, 2015;Palmer et al, 2013;Santos et al, 2016). Our use of a triaxial accelerometer for the measurement of PA may have contributed to the difference in the results from previous studies.…”

“…Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy has beneficial effects on physical and mental health. Maintaining regular PA during pregnancy is associated with physical benefits to the mother (increased control of gestational weight gain and lower risk of gestational diabetes) (Dye, Knox, Artal, Aubry, & Wojtowycz, 1997;Solomon et al, 1997), psychological benefits to the mother (decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety) (Poudevigne & O'Connor, 2006), and potential protection from adverse obstetric and fetal outcomes (fewer large-and small-for-gestational age infants, and shorter length of labor) (Mudd et al, 2012). Furthermore, PA during pregnancy may prevent mood disturbances and weight retention in the postpartum period (Carter, Baker, & Brownell, 2000).…”

“…Previous studies consistently demonstrated that PA, both leisure-time and work-related, is reduced during pregnancy (Borodulin, Evenson, & Herring, 2009;Chasan-Taber et al, 2004;Nascimento, Surita, Godoy, Kasawara, & Morais, 2015;Palmer, Bonzine, Harris, Linaker, & Bonde, 2013;Santos et al, 2016). These were retrospective studies that used self-administered questionnaires.…”

Estilo de vida activo en la etapa final de embarazo y su influencia en la salud mental percibida: the PregnActive project

“…El porcentaje de mujeres embarazadas categorizadas como activas por cumplir con las recomendaciones de realizar un mínimo de 5 días con al menos 30 minutos de actividad física de intensidad moderada a vigorosa es algo superior al porcentaje encontrado en un estudio anterior en embarazadas portuguesas (Santos et al, 2016), pudiendo deberse a que en nuestro estudio la embarazada participaba voluntariamente, lo cual puede implicar que las embarazadas con mayor interés en mantener un estilo de vida activo y saludable sean también las más interesadas en participar en el estudio.…”

Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire – polish version (PPAQ-PL)

“…[14], który jest coraz częściej wykorzystywany przez naukowców na świecie i dostosowywany jest do warunków kulturowych różnych krajów [20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28]. Wychodząc naprzeciw istniejącym potrzebom, po uzyskaniu zgody autorów oryginalnej wersji [14] na wykorzystanie kwestionariusza, rzetelność zmodyfikowanego narzędzia w polskich warunkach została oceniona i opublikowana przez Krzepotę i wsp.…”