Abstract
BackgroundPhysical inactivity in pregnancy has been associated with excessive gestational weight gain, hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes mellitus and postpartum depression. Despite these risks, physical inactivity level remains high especially in higher income countries. The prevalence of physical inactivity among women in Malaysia aged ≥16 years was 28.2% in 2019 exceeding men by 6.1%. However, little is known regarding the subpopulation of pregnant women especially in Kuala Lumpur which is the most urbanized and highly populated city in Malaysia. Therefore, the aim of this study is to measure the physical inactivity prevalence among first trimester pregnant women in Kuala Lumpur and to identify its determining factors.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study in which 339 first trimester pregnant women were sampled from 13 maternal and child health clinics located in all four parliament districts of Kuala Lumpur. Self-administered questionnaires which contained the Malay version of the pregnancy physical activity questionnaire (PPAQ) were used. Descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the physical inactivity prevalence followed by simple and multiple logistic regression to identify the determinants of physical inactivity with significant level of 5%.ResultsThe prevalence of physical inactivity was 38.3%. The highest activity was seen in the household activity domain, despite only 24.8% of the respondents were housewives/unemployed. There was little to no participation observed in the vigorous intensity category. The determinants of physical inactivity were primigravida (aOR 3.54 95% CI 1.40, 8.97), education level (aOR 3.77 95% CI 1.35, 10.52) and body mass index (aOR 0.88 95% CI 0.80, 0.97) which explained 22.6% variation of physical inactivity in the final adjusted model.ConclusionThe prevalence of physical inactivity among first trimester pregnant mothers in this study was 38.3%, and the highest activity was seen in the household category. Health education on physical activity in pregnancy should be focused on those who are primigravida and have no tertiary education. The educational content should be updated and tailored to current pandemic situation where self-isolation is the new norm, by advocating for home-based, moderate to vigorous intensity physical activities.
Highlights
Physical inactivity in pregnancy has been associated with excessive gestational weight gain, hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes mellitus and postpartum depression
A total of 339 pregnant mothers were sampled and participated in this study. All those who were approached agreed to take part, 23 respondents were withdrawn from the study. This was because 13 respondents failed to meet at least one of the inclusion criteria and four respondents were found to have met at least one of the exclusion criteria
The highest energy expenditure was seen in the household category, followed by the occupational category, whereas the sports/exercise category had the lowest energy expenditure, most likely due to these respondents spending their time isolating at home
Summary
Physical inactivity in pregnancy has been associated with excessive gestational weight gain, hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes mellitus and postpartum depression. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends healthy adults to be involved in at least 150 min of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity, which are activities of at least 3 METs, spread throughout the week [1] This applies to pregnant women because physical activity early in the first trimester and throughout the pregnancy [3] is not associated with increased odds for miscarriage or prenatal mortality [4]. Instead, it is strongly associated with reduced risks of excessive gestational weight gain, hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes mellitus and postpartum depression [5,6,7,8,9]
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