Pregnant women walking less as pregnancy develops

Pregnant women are failing to maintain their pre-pregnancy activity levels with many walking considerably less as their pregnancy develops, research from Southern Cross University reveals.

Dr Frances Doran and PhD candidate Nellie Buckley, from the School of Health and Human Sciences, investigated the walking patterns of pregnant women, including those who experienced gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). They recently had their research published in the Australian Journal of Primary Health. The study was conducted by surveying 112 women postpartum.

“It’s not surprising that women exercise less and less as their pregnancy develops but it is interesting that even rudimentary physical activity like walking drops right away,” Mrs Buckley said.

“Women are encouraged to be active before, during and after pregnancy, however, most pregnant women do not engage in sufficient levels of physical activity. We decided to specifically explore walking in pregnant women because it is the most common activity undertaken by women across their lifespan and during pregnancy and is often recommended by health professionals.

“Walking in pregnant women was at its lowest in the third trimester, and may point to the fact that walking is no longer comfortable during late pregnancy. However, walking in each trimester was lower than before pregnancy for all women.

“Interestingly, those pregnant women with GDM reported less of a reduction in walking in the third trimester than their healthy counterparts. Perhaps this is due to the advice these women received from health care professionals which triggered their ongoing activity.”

The healthy group recorded a 29.9 per cent decline in walking activity from pre-pregnancy while and a further 24.9 per cent drop in the second trimester. The third trimester had the largest decline of 35.2 per cent.

The group with GDM recorded a 24.7 per cent decline in walking activity in the first trimester, a 26.2 per cent decline in the second trimester and a 28 per cent decline in the third trimester.

“While the results are probably intuitive in many people’s experiences with pregnancy, it should be noted that health guidelines encourage pregnant women to maintain pre-pregnancy activity levels,” Mrs Buckley said.

“Another important point is that pregnancy affords a prime opportunity for health professionals to draw attention to the benefits of physical activity for pregnant women. Strategies that enable women to participate in physical activity need to be developed with consideration of the factors that support and hinder participation.

“Attention to walking, the most common activity across a woman’s lifespan, may be a good first step.”

Photo: PhD candidate Nellie Buckley puts mother-to-be Sonja Coetzee through her paces on a treadmill.