Conditioning the body for safe-delivery: an assessment of pregnant women’s knowledge on the benefit of exercise during pregnancy in Ibadan, Oyo State

Abstract

Pregnancy is one of the most awaited stages in a woman's life. It is also one of the most delicate phases of life, and that is why it is crucial to ensure fitness and wellbeing at this stage. It is very necessary for pregnant women to condition their bodies for safe delivery through light physical activities and exercises to provide a stress-less antenatal and healthy gestation phase. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess knowledge of pregnant women attending the ante-natal clinic at Adeoyo State Hospital on the benefit of exercise. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. Purposive sampling technique was used to select two hundred (200) pregnant women attending ante-natal clinics at Adeoyo State Hospital, Ibadan. An interviewer- administered semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Research questions one and two sought to know if respondents engaged in any form of exercise while three other research questions were raised to assess their knowledge on the benefit of exercise on physical fitness, sleep and depression during pregnancy. Data were presented in percentages. Overall, 77% of the respondents revealed that they did engage in exercises but 58% in the form of walking. The majority (71%) of the participants agreed that exercise has a positive effect on sleep. 70% viewed exercise as beneficial in reducing depression. Also, 56% agreed that exercise could prevent weight gain and improve physical fitness in pregnancy. This study shows that the respondents know the benefits of exercise during pregnancy and walking as a form of exercise. It was recommended that the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education should focus on encouraging primary care physicians and other health care providers to include physical activity when designing treatment plans for pregnant women and referring their patients to credentialed Exercise and Health Fitness Professionals.