Evaluating pregnant women's action plans for exercise: Content, compliance rates, and resultant exercise patterns

Abstract

Despite the benefits associated with exercise during pregnancy, many pregnant women are inactive, highlighting the need for effective interventions for this population. This study explores the content of pregnant women's action plans for exercise, their resultant exercise patterns, and the correspondence between their action plans and objectively-measured follow-up behaviour. Participants (M age = 30.68, SD = 4.51; M weeks pregnant = 21.81, SD = 5.60) were 31 previously inactive pregnant women who formulated action plans (i.e., what, when, where and with whom they intended to exercise) as part of a larger intervention based on the Health Action Process Approach (Schwarzer, 2003). Week-long follow-up exercise was assessed via accelerometer, and data were used to determine the number of bouts of moderate-to-vigorous exercise lasting 30 or more minutes and when (day and time) each bout occurred. Participants engaged in an average of 4.39 bouts (SD = 1.33) with 35% of bouts occurring after 6pm. Fifty-eight percent of action plans directly translated into observed bouts (same day and time) while an additional 26% of plans led to exercise on the same day but at a different time. Furthermore, participants who successfully achieved 3 or more plans engaged in more bouts than those who achieved fewer than 3 plans (p < .05, ?2 = .12). The usefulness of action planning as a strategy for increasing exercise among pregnant women will be discussed.