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. 2020 Apr 7;17(7):2517.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17072517.

What Accounts for Physical Activity during Pregnancy? A Study on the Sociodemographic Predictors of Self-Reported and Objectively Assessed Physical Activity during the 1st and 2nd Trimesters of Pregnancy

Ana Mendinueta  1 , Haritz Esnal  1 , Haritz Arrieta  2 , Miren Arrue  3 , Nerea Urbieta  4 , Itziar Ubillos  4 , Kristina W Whitworth  5 , Xavier Delclòs-Alió  6 , Guillem Vich  7 , Jesus Ibarluzea  4   8   9   10
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What Accounts for Physical Activity during Pregnancy? A Study on the Sociodemographic Predictors of Self-Reported and Objectively Assessed Physical Activity during the 1st and 2nd Trimesters of Pregnancy

Ana Mendinueta et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy has positive health implications for both mother and child. However, current literature indicates that not all pregnant women meet the international recommendations for PA (at least 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous PA). The main objective of this study was to assess PA levels among pregnant women in the city of Donostia-San Sebastian and identify their main sociodemographic predictors. We recruited 441 women in the 12th week of pregnancy from the local public obstetric health services. Women wore an accelerometer for one week during two separate time points (1st and 2nd trimesters of pregnancy) and completed a questionnaire assessing several sociodemographic variables as well as self-reported PA. With this information, we estimated women's overall PA levels during both time points. The fulfillment of PA recommendations raised up to 77% and 85% during the first and second trimesters, respectively. We found that a higher number of children and a greater preference for exercise positively predicted light-to-moderate PA, being the most consistent predictors. The availability of a greater number of cars negatively predicted moderate-to-vigorous PA.

Keywords: accelerometer; inter-measurement agreement; physical activity guidelines; pregnancy; self-reported data.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart showing participants included in the 1st and 2nd trimester analyses.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Regression models’ residuals for LMPA and MVPA (self-reported and objective) for the first trimester of pregnancy.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Regression models’ residuals for LMPA and MVPA (self-reported and objective) for the second trimester of pregnancy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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