EXERCISE PARTICIPATION PRIOR TO AND DURING PREGNANCY AMONG LOW INCOME, URBAN BLACK WOMEN

Abstract

This research was focused upon participation in exercise during and before pregnancy in a sample of 922 pregnant, low income, Black women. Black women ages 18 years and older were enrolled in the study at the time of their first prenatal visit at 5 hospital-based or affiliated prenatal clinics in Baltimore City. In addition to exercise habits, at enrollment women provided information on demographic, behavioral (e.g. smoking) and psychosocial (e.g. depressive symptoms, exposure to stressors, and high effort coping with stressors) factors. Measures of exercise included participation in strenuous and non-strenuous activities before and during pregnancy. Sixty-four percent of women reported engaging in some form of exercise during the current pregnancy. Women engaged in either strenuous exercise only (2.1%), a combination of strenuous and non-strenuous exercise (6.0%), or non-strenuous exercise only (56.1%). Pre-pregnancy exercise habits were significantly associated with exercise habits during pregnancy (p < .001). Women with higher levels of depressive symptoms at the time of the first prenatal visit were less likely to report engaging in exercise than those with lower levels (p = .01). High effort coping with environmental stressors, assessed by the John Henryism Scale, was also associated with exercise during pregnancy; those with greater levels of high effort coping were more likely to engage in exercise than those with lower levels (p = .01). Cigarette smoking was negatively associated with engaging in strenuous exercise, and level of depressive symptoms, exposure to stressors, and high effort coping with environmental stressors were significantly associated with engaging in non-strenuous exercise during the current pregnancy (p < .05). In this sample of low income, urban, Black pregnant women, the majority engaged in some form of exercise during pregnancy; maternal psychosocial and behavioral factors were associated with participation in exercise; and exercise habits prior to pregnancy were associated with exercise habits during pregnancy.