IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i10p1840-d233835.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions on Pregnancy-Related Outcomes among Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Carmen W. H. Chan

    (The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Elce Au Yeung

    (The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Bernard M. H. Law

    (The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

Abstract

Regular physical activity has been demonstrated to contribute to physical and psychological health. Nevertheless, pregnant women generally exhibit low levels of physical activity. Implementation of interventions that enhance the self-efficacy of pregnant women on increasing physical activity is required. This paper provides an in-depth review of studies reporting the effect of various physical activity interventions dedicated for pregnant women on pregnancy-related issues, including gestational weight gain, pain and depression, physical activity level, and quality of life among these individuals. Five databases were used in searching the literature. Findings of the included studies were presented narratively, and appraisal of their methodological quality was conducted using the quality assessment tool developed by Effective Public Health Practice Project. Review findings demonstrated that physical activity interventions are effective in enhancing physical activity levels of pregnant women. Further, they are potentially useful in alleviating pregnancy-related pain and psychological symptoms, reducing gestational weight gain, and increasing self-efficacy in enhancing physical activity levels among these individuals. Nevertheless, inconsistencies in findings between studies hamper the drawing of firm conclusions on these latter outcomes. Overall, studies demonstrated a positive effect of physical activity interventions on the well-being and physical and psychological health of pregnant women.

Suggested Citation

  • Carmen W. H. Chan & Elce Au Yeung & Bernard M. H. Law, 2019. "Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions on Pregnancy-Related Outcomes among Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-42, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:10:p:1840-:d:233835
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/10/1840/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/10/1840/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hawkins, M. & Chasan-Taber, L. & Marcus, B. & Stanek, E. & Braun, B. & Ciccolo, J. & Markenson, G., 2014. "Impact of an exercise intervention on physical activity during pregnancy: The behaviors affecting baby and you study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(10), pages 74-81.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rebeca de Castro & Raul Antunes & Diogo Mendes & Anna Szumilewicz & Rita Santos-Rocha, 2022. "Can Group Exercise Programs Improve Health Outcomes in Pregnant Women? An Updated Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-36, April.
    2. Vilma Dudonienė & Raija Kuisma, 2023. "Women’s Knowledge and Perceptions of the Effect of Exercise during Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-9, January.
    3. Shelly Ruart & Stéphane Sinnapah & Olivier Hue & Eustase Janky & Sophie Antoine-Jonville, 2020. "Prenatal Counseling throughout Pregnancy: Effects on Physical Activity Level, Perceived Barriers, and Perinatal Health Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-15, November.
    4. Wei Zhang & Ying Jin & Ningning Liu & Zhenzhen Xiang & Xiaojuan Wang & Ping Xu & Pingping Guo & Minna Mao & Suwen Feng, 2022. "Predicting Physical Activity in Chinese Pregnant Women Using Multi-Theory Model: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-12, October.
    5. Farah Nawabi & Franziska Krebs & Laura Lorenz & Arim Shukri & Adrienne Alayli & Stephanie Stock, 2022. "Health Literacy among Pregnant Women in a Lifestyle Intervention Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-10, May.
    6. Carmen W.H. Chan & Daria Tai & Stephanie Kwong & Ka Ming Chow & Dorothy N.S. Chan & Bernard M.H. Law, 2020. "The Effects of Pharmacological and Non-Pharmacological Interventions on Symptom Management and Quality of Life among Breast Cancer Survivors Undergoing Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-44, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rachel A. Tinius & Maire M. Blankenship & Alison M. Colao & Gregory S. Hawk & Madhawa Perera & Nancy E. Schoenberg, 2022. "A Pilot Study on the Impact of the BumptUp ® Mobile App on Physical Activity during and after Pregnancy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Saud Abdulaziz Alomairah & Signe de Place Knudsen & Caroline Borup Roland & Stig Molsted & Tine D. Clausen & Jane M. Bendix & Ellen Løkkegaard & Andreas Kryger Jensen & Jakob Eg Larsen & Poul Jennum &, 2023. "Effects of Two Physical Activity Interventions on Sleep and Sedentary Time in Pregnant Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(7), pages 1-14, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:10:p:1840-:d:233835. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.