Pregnancy Intention and Regular Exercise during Pregnancy

Background: Despite benefits of regular exercise during pregnancy and American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology (ACOG) recommendation of at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, on most, if not all days of the week in the absence of medical and obstetric complications, exercise levels remain low. While there is some evidence indicating that women are likely to adopt healthier behaviors after recognition of pregnancy, it is unknown whether women who intended to become pregnant are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors than those with unintended pregnancies. Methods: We conducted a prospective analysis of 2949 first time mothers aged 18 to 35 in Pennsylvania, interviewed between 2009 and 2011 after 34 weeks gestation. We evaluated the relationship between pregnancy intention and exercise during pregnancy stratified by age (<28 vs. ≥28). Results: Of the 2949 women, 68.2% reported that their pregnancy was intended. Women reported engaging in exercise 3.19 ±2.0 times per week with an average duration of 38.5mins per day and 45.8% meet ACOG exercise recommendations. Women who intended pregnancy were less likely than women with unintended pregnancies to meet ACOG exercise recommendations [Odds Ratio (OR) =0.81, 95% CI:0.69, 0.96]. When stratified by age, we found a similar relationship among younger women (OR=0.76, 95% CI:0.62, 0.93) which persisted after adjustment for race, poverty status and hours spent watching television (OR=0.76, 95% CI:0.59, 0.96) and no statistically significant association among women 28 years or older. Conclusions: Among younger women, pregnancy intention is associated with reduced odds of meeting ACOG exercise recommendations.