Racial and Ethnic Differences in Exercise and Body Image 6-Months Postpartum

Exercise and body image are two important factors in well women interconceptional care. Using data from 2 postpartum depression prevention trials we examined the association between demographic characteristics and exercise, weight gain, and body image among a racially/ethnically diverse group of mothers. This study includes 840 (of 1080 enrolled) mothers, who completed the baseline and 6-month surveys. Nineteen percent were black, 32% were Latina, and 49% were white; 32% had Medicaid insurance, 28% were foreign born, and 11% spoke Spanish. At six-months postpartum, seventy percent of all mothers reported exercising, 27% had either gained or remained the same in weight, and 64% were bothered by their physical appearance. White women were more likely than blacks and Latinas to be bothered with their physical appearance (73% vs. 53% vs. 57%, p=<.0001) yet were more likely to exercise than blacks and Latinas (76% vs. 69% vs. 62%, p=.0003). In bivariate analyses exercise was more common among mothers born in the US, mothers with higher educational achievement, mothers having just delivered their first child, mothers with higher self assessed health, and mothers who were currently breastfeeding. There were no differences in rates of exercise by delivery type, presence of maternal complication or comorbid condition, or by intervention arm. Multivariable analyses examining race/ethnicity, other demographic characteristics, and clinical factors with exercise and body image are ongoing. There is a need for research that examines factors associated with exercise among diverse postpartum mothers.