Facilitators and Barriers to Prenatal Exercise from the Biopsychosocial Perspective of Pregnant Individuals: "If You Keep Moving, Then You Won't Stop".
Lauren Elizabeth Hicks, Elizabeth Williams, Lauren Bates-Fraser and 1 others
PMID 41508373WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant people rated exercise highly important and reported moderate-to-high confidence.
Fatigue, pain, fear of harming the baby, work and caregiving, and unclear safety advice limited activity. Walking, stretching, routines, family support, and clear reassurance helped.
Key findings
01Participants generally viewed exercise as highly important and reported moderate-to-high confidence in being active.
02Fatigue, discomfort and pain were the most common barriers, while walking and stretching were viewed as accessible and less physically demanding.
03Support from partners, family and healthcare professionals helped participants stay committed, while work and caregiving restricted time and energy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample came from a single suburban medical center in North Carolina, so it may not reflect other regions or populations. All participants had a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or greater at the first prenatal visit, so findings may not apply to lower BMI groups. Data were self-reported and subject to recall and social desirability bias. Some motivational interviews were summarized rather than transcribed verbatim, which may limit detail. The analysis treated each interview as an independent data point and averaged importance and confidence across the final ten weeks, so it may miss week-to-week changes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that walking or stretching was shown to improve maternal or fetal health. This paper analyzes experiences and ratings from a secondary qualitative study, not effectiveness outcomes.