Examination of influence of social media education through mobile phones on the change in physical activity and sedentary behavior in pregnant women: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background Nowadays because of some necessities and demands for virtual and remote education, a new model of health approach through mobile-phones is widely used to deal with improving physical activity and its beneficial effect on pregnancy. There are a small number of studies for showing this importance and the efficacy of such methods, so this study was aimed to determine the influence of social networking through mobile phones on changing the physical activity behavior in pregnant women. Methods This randomized controlled trial was conducted with parallel groups on 90 pregnant women referring to Urmia health centers in 2018–2019. The participants from various social and economic backgrounds were included. The participants were randomly assigned to a control and a treatment group. Demographic and Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) questionnaires were filled. In addition to routine cares, the treatment group received educational intervention through social network within 16 training sessions related to physical activity and nutrition in 8 weeks. Results The mean weight in both control and treatment groups changed significantly during the study, but in different trends (P < 0.001, Mean Difference (MD) = 4.43). At the beginning of the study, control and treatment groups were not different in terms of daily physical activity level (P = 0.17, MD = 0.62), meanwhile, there was a statistically significant difference at the end of intervention in the level of daily physical activity (P < 0.001, MD = 0.69). Comparison of both groups, based on different categories of activity level at the end of the treatment, showed a non-significant difference in sedentary activities (P = 0.89, MD = 0.46), but the intervention led to a significant difference based on the other level of activities; light (P < 0.001, MD = 51.94), moderate (P < 0.001, MD = 46.87), and sever (P = 0.05, MD = 1.07). Conclusion Educational intervention based on social networks through mobile phones had an effective role in behavior change in physical activity during pregnancy. Trial registration IRCT20151004024340N15, Registration date05/06/2020.

Physical activity during pregnancy: a systematic review for the assessment of current evidence with future recommendations

“…Pregnancy and infant outcomes were similar between groups Proportion of women who achieved gestational weight gain – 16 [ 47 ] 639 pregnant women IG 27.7 (5.6) CG 27.7 (5.7) 16-week exercise program starting between the 16th and 20th weeks of gestation, 3 times a week, lasting 60 min per session Children from women in the exercise group had higher language score at age 2 years and higher cognitive score (standardized at age 4 years. No effects of exercise during pregnancy were observed in the motor domain at 1, 2, and 4 years Preterm birth and preeclampsia – 17 [ 48 ] 150 pregnant women IG 32.4 (5.4) CG 33.4 (4.7) 10,000 steps a day, equivalent to 30 min per day of moderate physical activity over the week (≥ 5 days) During the 35 and 37 gestational weeks, women in the intervention group had higher mean PA than women in the control group ( p = 0.01) Maternal and perinatal outcomes – 18 [ 49 ] 90 pregnant women IG 29.46 (5.78) CG 28.94 (5.33) Virtual group in a social network (What's app) received individually diets and materials about that how to track its effect on their weight gain during pregnancy There was a statistically significant difference at the end of intervention in the level of daily physical activity ( p < 0.001) Amount of changes in the mean daily total physical activity level Measuring the level of changes in other subgroups of daily physical activity alongside with the level of weight gain during pregnancy 19 [ 50 ] 305 pregnant women 6-month digital lifestyle intervention (the HealthyMoms app) Digital lifestyle intervention is effective in promotion of healthy dietary habits in women representing all BMI-categories and decrease weight gain during pregnancy in women with overweight and obesity without compromising offspring growth Healthy weight gain, diet, and physical activity Body fatness, dietary habits, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, glycemia, and insulin resistance 20 [ …”

Effective management of sedentary behavior among Indian university students: An empirical exploration into health-related behavior

“…The findings underscore the relevance of personalized digital interventions in supporting expectant mothers’ health and well-being, while offering a scalable approach to address the unique challenges faced during this critical life stage. [ 55 56 57 ]…”

Effects of Two Physical Activity Interventions on Sleep and Sedentary Time in Pregnant Women

“…Also, 90 pregnant women were randomized to an 8-week educational intervention on WhatsApp to improve PA or to a control group. PA level was increased in the intervention group, but SED measured by PPAQ did not differ between groups [ 40 ]. These contradictory results might be because we used five instead of two items from PPAQ to compute SED as recently recommended [ 25 , 26 ].…”