The Impact of the Gestational Period and Weight on Individual, Task and Environmental Constraints as Related to Perceived Confidence when Completing Ambulatory Tasks in Pregnant Women

Abstract

Background: Pregnancy and the physical, sensory, perceptual, and motor changes that coincide with pregnancy can affect a person’s ability to perform basic activities of daily living (ADL’s) that involve ambulation. Previous research suggested that weight and gestational age (trimester) are factors that impact woman’s ability to ambulate through daily tasks, however, these issues require further investigation. Newell's model of constraints was used as a framework to shape the questionnaire investigating the ability to perform different ambulatory activities across various constraints. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether variables such as pre-pregnancy weight (under vs. over 155 pounds) and trimester (before vs. after 26 weeks) had an impact on the ability and perception to perform different tasks requiring ambulation. Methods: Twenty pregnant or postpartum women (M = 29.7 years; SD = 3.6) were recruited and asked to complete a 15-item online survey exploring their abilities to complete a variety of daily tasks involving balance. Also, open ended questions were posed to gain qualitative insight into their experiences. A series of independent samples T-tests were used to analyse the data. Findings: The results revealed predominantly no statistical differences between the levels of the variables manipulated. At the descriptive level the women indicated that they were relatively comfortable performing the different tasks. However, the qualitative responses suggested that although they were capable, they expended a substantial amount of energy to avoid falling, resulting in fatigue and soreness. Also, they experienced overall mental anguish and feelings of being overwhelmed when performing even simple tasks involving gait. Conclusion: Overall, it was surprising that weight and gestational age, which intuitively should have an impact, did not have a more pronounced effect on the women’s confidence in performing ambulation tasks. Nevertheless, qualitative responses confirmed the challenging effects of pregnancy on the way women engage in activities of daily living.