Overcoming psychosocial barriers to maternal exercise: intervention strategies to improve participation and adherence (original) (raw)

Review Paper: The Perceived Barriers to Physical Activity in Pregnant Women: A Review Study

Client – centered Nursing Care Journal, 2021

Background: Despite all the positive effects of physical activity on maternal and fetal health, its level is low among pregnant women. Various barriers seem to prevent physical activity during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate and determine the barriers to physical activity during pregnancy based on a review of available literature. Methods: To review the available literature, the authors searched Persian databases, such as Iran Medex, Magiran, MedLib, and SID, and also English databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Elsevier, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and ProQuest using the keywords of pregnant woman, physical activity, exercise, barriers, pregnancy, constraints, and attitudes individually or in combination between 2000 and 2020 and finally, 10 articles that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. An ecological model was used to classify the reported barriers. Results: Seven quantitative articles and three qualitative articles were included in the study. Obstacles related to the intrapersonal level of the ecological model were the most reported in these studies and were classified into five areas, including pregnancy symptoms and limitations, time constraints, misunderstanding the adequacy of daily activities, lack of motivation, and maternal and fetus safety concerns. Barriers at the interpersonal level included lack of consultation and information and lack of social support and at the environmental, organizational, and political levels, climate and lack of resources were the most reported barriers. Conclusion: The present study outlined the perceived barriers to physical activity among pregnant women and highlighted the important factors that should be considered when planning interventions to increase the level of physical activity during pregnancy. Further studies are recommended to provide solutions to overcome these barriers and increase the activity of pregnant women.

Barriers to Physical Activity in Pregnant Women: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed-method Study (Study Protocol

Client – centered Nursing Care Journal, 2024

Background: Gaining insight into the obstacles holding women from engaging in physical activity during pregnancy is crucial for planning future interventions to enhance their physical activity during this period. This research aims to identify barriers to physical activity among pregnant women using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach. The study protocol is explained in this article. Methods: This research employs an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. The project will be implemented in two separate phases. In the first phase, a quantitative cross-sectional study will be conducted on 358 eligible pregnant women aged 18-45 years living in Babol City, Iran. Quantitative data collection will involve using the barriers to physical activity during pregnancy scale (BPAPS) and questionnaires gathering demographic and obstetric data. The qualitative investigation will employ individual semi-structured interviews utilizing a content analysis approach. Ultimately, incorporating qualitative data will inform the interpretation of quantitative findings. Results: The results will be presented in alignment with the study objectives. Initially, the mean score of BPAPS and its subscales, along with the correlation between demographic and obstetric variables, will be reported. Subsequently, the qualitative phase will encompass the reporting of categories and the main themes. Finally, the quantitative phase findings will be interpreted, incorporating insights gained from the qualitative phase. Conclusion: Since regular physical activity during pregnancy has many benefits for maternal and fetal health, the study's findings after its implementation can play a vital role in strategic planning to address women's false beliefs and misconceptions regarding physical activity during pregnancy. In addition, this study will contribute to designing interventions to remove barriers to physical activity and encourage it in pregnant women, hence improving their overall health and well-being during pregnancy.

Barriers and Facilitators for Physical Activity in Pregnancy and Post-Partum? Findings from a Qualitative Study to Inform the Design of an Intervention for Active Women

Objectives: The benefits of physical activity during and after pregnancy are well established. However, activity levels decline substantially in both inactive and active women. There is limited information on the barriers and facilitators for physical activity participation in active women, which is vital for the development of tailored interventions. The primary aim of this study is to identify the barriers and facilitators for physical activity (PA) in already active women during pregnancy and postpartum. We also explore their views on, and requirements for, the development of an intervention to support maintenance of or increase in physical activity. Methods: Five focus groups, with a total of 19 participants, were conducted using a topic guide structured around the study objectives. Transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Results: Twenty-two codes were generated and grouped into 8 themes: (1) cognizant of PA benefits, (2) sources of advice, (3) reasons to be active during pregnancy, (4) reasons for reducing PA levels during pregnancy, (5) barriers to PA during and after pregnancy, (6) facilitators of PA during and after pregnancy, (7) ideal PA intervention, and (8) evaluation support. Conclusion: Already active women show enthusiasm for continuing PA during and after pregnancy. However, factors such as pregnancy-related body changes, childcare and lack of targeted activities deter participation in PA. A new PA programme with social and group elements, including both familiar and new activities, and providing "satisfaction and fun" should be developed for previously active pregnant and postpartum women to help increase or maintain PA levels

LEVEL OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING PREGNANCY: WOMEN'S PERCEPTION AND ITS MODIFIABLE BARRIERS

Background: Traditionally, pregnant women have been advised to restrict exercise due to concerns for the health of the mother and her fetus, while regular exercise has also been has a role in managing stress, depression and gestational diabetes . An awareness that exercise is important in promoting health and well-being has led to many women wanting to continue exercising during. Method: This cross sectional study carried out among pregnant women who attend King Abdulaziz University hospital as outpatients or inpatients by distributing a questionnaire consist of ( demographic data , perception of physical activities during pregnancy , awareness of physical activities benefits) , 300 accepted to enroll in the study. Result: Sample of 300 pregnant women participated in the study 65.3% of pregnant women were not exercising during pregnancy, 1% relived that they dislike exercise,5.3% of them have work related barriers, 13.3% having no time, 15.4% dined having any kind of motivation, 32% have no knowledge about the benefit of exercise, and 33% have pregnancy related barriers. While 35% were exercising during pregnancy 88.7% of them believe physical activity and exercise during pregnancy will improve their labor and delivery Conclusions: We found that most pregnant women were not physically active during pregnancy ,we recommend the physician and health care provider to motivate them to be more active . More awareness campignes should be held.

Development and psychometric testing of the ‘barriers to physical activity during pregnancy scale’ (BPAPS)

BMC Public Health, 2021

Background Pregnancy can affect the amount of physical activity that women engage in, so ensuring adequate physical activity in pregnant women can be a challenge. Therefore, there is a need to explore and identify barriers to physical activity in this population. Consequently, this study was conducted in order to develop and validate a scale to assess barriers to physical activity in pregnant populations. Methods The study was conducted in two phases. During phase 1, a comprehensive review of the most relevant literature from electronic databases on barriers to physical activity was carried out and appropriate scale items were extracted using a deductive approach. During phase 2, the psychometric properties of the extracted scale items were determined using face, content and construct validity, internal consistency and stability. Qualitative and quantitative face validity was assessed via face-to-face interviews with 30 and 10 pregnant women, respectively. To confirm the qualitative...

Health Promoting Behaviors and Self-efficacy of Physical Activity During Pregnancy: An Interventional Study

International Journal of Women's Health and Reproduction Sciences, 2017

Maintaining a health-promoting lifestyle is defined as controlling certain behaviors and selecting appropriate behaviors in the daily life for one's own health (1). Healthpromotion behavior is a multifaceted model of perception, self-initiated action or practice (2). It is a response to World Health Organization's (WHO's) goal of "health for all" (3). According to Pender, health promoting lifestyle behaviors include nutrition, exercise, stress management, health responsibility, spiritual improvement, and interpersonal relations (4). During pregnancy, health-promoting lifestyle leads to a reduction in risk factors and an improvement of infant's health (3). Nowadays, the mortality of pregnant women is one of the key indices of health in all countries. This has both direct and indirect impacts on pregnancy outcomes. The health of pregnant women-as a vulnerable groupis of particular importance in the healthcare systems (5). In fact, a large number of physiological, psychological, and social changes occur during pregnancy. The mother's adjustment to these changes is highly important (6). Rubin stated that it is necessary for pregnant women to acquire 4 maternal duties, the most important of which is seeking for safety. Therefore, the following health-promoting behaviors are essential for giving birth to a healthy infant (2). Although a great body of evidence exists in respect of the benefits of health promoting behaviors, getting people to adopt a healthy lifestyle is challenging (7). Unfortunately, many women are against the application of healthy behaviors during pregnancy. For example there is a decrease in the level of physical activity as pregnancy progresses (8). Physical activity on pregnancy has many positive effects on the health of the mother and foetus (9). These include better health-related quality of life (10), reduction of stress and depressive symptoms (11), less delivery pain, lower rate of cesarean delivery, lower risk of obesity, selfefficacy, and better body image (12). Overall, pregnant women faced the challenge of continuing physical activity during pregnancy (13). Self-efficacy has been defined as an individual's perceived belief in having the ability to benefit from one's personal sources of motivation and organization and acts to reach a specific goal (14). Self-efficacy is a strong predictor of health behaviors, and also initiation and maintenance of exercise during pregnancy (13). Bandura indicated that theory of self-efficacy provides a convincing explanation

The Perceived Barriers to Physical Activity in Pregnant Women: A Review Study

Journal of Client-centered Nursing Care

Background: Despite all the positive effects of physical activity on maternal and fetal health, its level is low among pregnant women. Various barriers seem to prevent physical activity during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate and determine the barriers to physical activity during pregnancy based on a review of available literature. Methods: To review the available literature, the authors searched Persian databases, such as Iran Medex, Magiran, MedLib, and SID, and also English databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Elsevier, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and ProQuest using the keywords of pregnant woman, physical activity, exercise, barriers, pregnancy, constraints, and attitudes individually or in combination between 2000 and 2020 and finally, 10 articles that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. An ecological model was used to classify the reported barriers. Results: Seven quantitative articles and three qualitative articles were included in the study. Obsta...

Barriers and Opportunities for Physical Activities: A Way Forward for Pregnant Individual

International Journal of Science and Management Studies (IJSMS)

A woman's physical activity may change during pregnancy, a life-changing event. Working individuals, middle-aged adults, pregnant women, and seniors all have greater health and wellbeing when they participate in leisure activities. Improvements in physiological, metabolic, and psychological factors as well as a lower risk of illness and death are linked. According to current recommendations, both pregnant and non pregnant people should exercise moderately every day for at least 30 minutes. To pave the way for appropriate and sufficient physical activities that best suit pregnant women's conditions, the goal of this review was to examine the adequate physical activities for pregnant women, pregnant women's exercise ideas, barriers to physical activity, suggestions for overcoming physical activity barriers, and benefits associated with physical activities for pregnant women. The most current studies on the barriers pregnant women face while engaging in physical activity an...