Abstract
BackgroundIt is estimated that less than one third of women (28%) worldwide, are not sufficiently active, and there is evidence indicating physical activity (PA) participation is lower during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Despite the importance of educating and encouraging postpartum women to engage in PA, existing systematic reviews have only focused on examining the impact of individually tailored PA interventions and on specific postpartum populations such as women who are inactive (i.e., do not meet PA recommendations) or women at risk of gestational diabetes mellitus or postnatal depression. This review aims to fill this gap by examining the impact of group-based PA interventions on postpartum women’s PA levels or other health behavior outcomes.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted using four electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsychInfo) of published studies between 1st January 2000 and 31st October 2020. Studies were included if they targeted postpartum women with no current health conditions, had children aged 0–5 years, and engaged postpartum women in a group-based PA program that reported PA or other health behavior outcomes. Out of a total of 1091 articles that were initially identified, six were included.ResultsGroup-based PA interventions were moderately successful in changing or increasing postpartum women’s self-reported PA levels and psychological wellbeing in the first 2 years of their offspring’s life. Overall, group-based PA interventions were not successful in changing or increasing postpartum women’s objectively measured PA levels, but only one study objectively measured postpartum women’s PA levels. Narrative synthesis highlights the heterogeneity of the outcomes and methodologies used, and the low to medium risk of bias in the included studies.ConclusionTo strengthen the evidence-base for group-based PA programs with postpartum women there is an on-going need for more rigorous randomised controlled trials of appropriate length (at least 3 months in duration) with an adequate dose of group-based PA sessions per week (to meet PA guidelines), and that utilise objective measures of PA. In addition, future PA interventions for this population should include, at the very least, fidelity and process data to capture the characteristics or design features that appeal most to postpartum women.
Highlights
It is estimated that less than one third of women (28%) worldwide, are not sufficiently active, and there is evidence indicating physical activity (PA) participation is lower during pregnancy and the postpartum period
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The mean number of women participating in the intervention and control groups were 63 and 61, respectively
Summary
It is estimated that less than one third of women (28%) worldwide, are not sufficiently active, and there is evidence indicating physical activity (PA) participation is lower during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Peralta et al BMC Women’s Health (2021) 21:435 challenge is a decrease in mothers’ engagement in regular physical activity (PA) [1]. Regular engagement in moderate-intensity PA (at an intensity of walking pace or higher) for at least 20 to 30 min per day on most or all days of the week has been recommended during pregnancy and the postpartum period by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) [7] and the World Health Organisation [8]. The 2018 PA Guidelines for Americans and Australians recommend 150 to 300 min per week of moderate intensity PA during pregnancy and the postpartum period to reduce the risk of excessive gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus, and symptoms of postpartum depression [9, 10]
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