Influences of prior miscarriage and weight status on perinatal psychological well-being, exercise motivation and behavior.
Courtenay A Devlin, Jennifer Huberty, Danielle Symons Downs
PMID 27838526WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant women with a prior miscarriage or overweight/obese prepregnancy weight reported higher depressive and anxiety symptoms in early pregnancy and lower exercise motivation.
The study did not find lower exercise during pregnancy.
Key findings
01Pregnant women with a history of miscarriage reported more clinically relevant depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower early-pregnancy exercise motivation than women without a history.
02Overweight or obese pregnant women reported higher depressive and anxiety symptoms in early and mid-pregnancy and lower exercise motivation than normal-weight women.
03There were no significant differences in exercise during pregnancy by miscarriage history or weight status, although overweight or obese women reported less exercise before pregnancy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was mostly Caucasian, married, college-educated, working full-time, and recruited from one OB/GYN clinic near a rural university, so it may not represent other pregnant women. Only women who returned questionnaires were analysed, and they may have been more motivated than women who did not participate. Exercise, BMI, depression, and anxiety were self-reported, so measurement error is possible. Underweight women were excluded and overweight and obese women were combined, and 15 women with exercise restrictions were excluded, so the findings do not describe those groups. The study was observational, so it cannot show that miscarriage history or weight status causes symptoms or that exercise would improve symptoms. No measure of perceived fear of another miscarriage was included.
Declared interests
The authors report no competing financial interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that exercise reduces depressive or anxiety symptoms in pregnant women with a prior miscarriage or overweight/obese status. The study did not test an exercise intervention. It also did not find lower exercise during pregnancy.