Abstract
1910 Physiological deconditioning in hospitalized high-risk (HR) pregnant women begins within days of the onset of bed rest and may impede their postpartum recovery. Exercise has been demonstrated to have lasting health benefits for participants who regularly engage in exercise, although the positive long-term benefits of pre-pregnancy exercise in this specific population has yet to be examined. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of pre-pregnancy exercise activity on the frequency and severity of physiological symptoms commonly experienced by hospitalized HR pregnant women. METHODS: We administered the Antepartum Symptoms Report Questionnaire (Maloni et al., 1993; Nursing Research) once during hospitalization to pregnant women in their third trimester (N = 24). Two groups were compared based on their pre-pregnancy exercise activity: active pregnant women (AP; N = 11) and non-active pregnant women (NAP; N = 13). The active group reported exercising at a minimum of 30 minutes, 3–4 times/week, while breathing and perspiring above normal. RESULTS: All hospitalized women experienced sleep disturbances and boredom. There were no significant differences between groups in the frequency or severity of the physiological symptoms (N = 53) they reported. Surprisingly, there were no overall relationships between the total number of days the pregnant women were hospitalized, and the frequency and severity of the physiological symptoms they experienced. However, the total number of days of hospitalization was significantly less for the active pregnant group than the non-active pregnant group (12.6 ± 8.4 vs 28.8 ± 24.4 days; p<.05). CONCLUSION: Our preliminary results suggest that pre-pregnancy exercise habits were unrelated to the frequency or severity of the physiological symptoms experienced by hospitalized HR pregnant women. However, it appears that pre-pregnancy exercise activity may reduce the number of days active HR pregnant women are hospitalized.
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