Table 3.
Percent agreeing to 15 statements, overall and stratified by exercise before and during pregnancy
| Regular Exercise or Strenuous Activity at Least 2x/week |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months before pregnancy |
1st trimester |
2nd trimester |
||||||||
| Overall n=1306* |
Yes n=736 |
No n=385 |
Yes n=488 |
No n=633 |
Yes n=418 |
No n=703 |
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| Do you agree or disagree that: | % agree (n) | % agree | % agree | p-value^ | % agree | % agree | p-value^ | % agree | % agree | p-value^ |
| Exercise During Pregnancy | ||||||||||
| (1) …most women can continue their regular exercise during pregnancy. |
77.8 (1015) | 78.5 | 74.7 | 0.15 | 80.5 | 76.7 | 0.02 | 82.8 | 73.9 | 0.0006 |
| (2) …most women who never exercised can begin an exercise program during pregnancy. |
67.8 (884) | 67.2 | 68.4 | 0.68 | 69.9 | 65.9 | 0.16 | 72.9 | 64.5 | 0.004 |
| (3) …for a pregnant woman, it is OK to continue to exercise even if she becomes tired or exhausted. |
7.5 (98) | 9.4 | 6.3 | 0.07 | 9.5 | 7.4 | 0.23 | 11.5 | 6.4 | 0.003 |
| (4) …during pregnancy, regular exercise done at least 3 times per week is better than activity done irregularly or less often. |
89.2 (1159) | 92.2 | 81.6 | <0.0001 | 93.6 | 84.7 | <0.0001 | 94.5 | 85.1 | <0.0001 |
| Exercise to Avoid During Pregnancy | ||||||||||
| (5) …pregnant women should not exercise while lying down on their back during the first trimester. |
17.1 (222) | 13.4 | 24.0 | <0.0001 | 11.1 | 21.6 | <0.0001 | 11.8 | 20.1 | 0.0003 |
| (6) …pregnant women should not exercise while lying down on their back during the second trimester. |
64.2 (829) | 67.9 | 58.5 | 0.002 | 67.7 | 62.3 | 0.06 | 68.2 | 62.6 | 0.058 |
| (7) …pregnant women should not exercise while lying down on their back during the third trimester. |
80.7 (1044) | 84.2 | 72.2 | <0.0001 | 85.0 | 76.3 | 0.0004 | 88.0 | 75.4 | <0.0001 |
| (8) …long periods of standing in one place without moving should be avoided while pregnant. |
93.2 (1210) | 95.2 | 87.9 | <0.0001 | 95.1 | 90.9 | 0.0008 | 95.7 | 91.0 | 0.004 |
|
Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity During Pregnancy |
||||||||||
| (9) …pregnant women will gain some benefit from mild exercise that feels fairly light. |
97.9 (1275) | 98.6 | 96.1 | 0.006 | 99.0 | 96.8 | 0.02 | 98.3 | 97.4 | 0.34 |
| (10) …pregnant women will gain some benefit from moderate exercise that feels somewhat hard. |
72.7 (947) | 79.2 | 62.7 | <0.0001 | 86.1 | 63.8 | <0.0001 | 88.5 | 64.6 | <0.0001 |
| (11) …pregnant women will gain some benefit from vigorous exercise that feels hard or very hard. |
12.8 (166) | 13.7 | 9.7 | 0.052 | 18.1 | 7.9 | <0.0001 | 18.7 | 8.6 | <0.0001 |
| (12) …physical activity and exercise during pregnancy might make a woman feel more energetic. |
94.3 (1225) | 95.2 | 92.2 | 0.04 | 96.1 | 92.7 | 0.02 | 97.1 | 92.4 | 0.001 |
| (13) …physical activity and exercise during pregnancy will improve a woman's labor and delivery. |
94.4 (1223) | 95.6 | 92.1 | 0.01 | 96.3 | 93.0 | 0.02 | 97.8 | 92.4 | 0.0001 |
| (14) …physical activity and exercise during pregnancy will improve the health of the baby. |
74.7 (964) | 78.6 | 68.6 | 0.0003 | 81.6 | 70.3 | <0.0001 | 84.8 | 69.6 | <0.0001 |
| (15) …physical activity and exercise during pregnancy causes lower weight babies. | 4.8 (62) | 4.5 | 6.0 | 0.27 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 0.7 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 0.97 |
^
All p values are from the Pearson chi-square test
*
Deminator for each percent calculation may differ due to missing values