Spousal influence on physical activity in physically inactive pregnant women: A cross-sectional study.
JiWon Choi, Yoshimi Fukuoka
PMID 29116912WHAT IT FOUND
Spouses' own activity level was the only spouse factor linked to activity in physically inactive pregnant women.
Spouse belief, knowledge, and support were not linked. Ask what the partner does.
Key findings
01Spouse activity level was the only significant predictor among spouse belief, knowledge, support, and activity level (p = .01).
02Spouse activity level was linked to pregnant women's activity level (r = 0.89, p < 0.001).
03All pregnant women were physically inactive, while about 82% of spouses were highly or moderately active.
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 very small, with 18 pregnant women and 18 spouses/partners. The participants were not a typical population; many were older, highly educated, and some ethnic groups were over-represented. The study was a baseline survey, so it can show association but cannot show that spouse activity causes pregnant women to be more active. Spouses' activity was self-reported online, while pregnant women's activity was interviewer-administered, so the two activity measures were not collected in the same way. The spouses were only those of pregnant women who were inactive but intended to increase activity, so results may not apply to inactive women without that intention. The pregnant women were 10 to 20 weeks pregnant and excluded if they had medical or obstetric complications, so it may not apply to higher-risk pregnancies.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by NIH and non-U.S. government research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that increasing spouse activity will increase pregnant women's activity. This was a small baseline survey, and the authors state that the associations cannot suggest causality.