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‘It’s all about modifying your expectations’: women’s experiences with physical activity during pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine women’s experiences with physical activity throughout the course of pregnancy. Nine pregnant women participated in two semi-structured interviews (total of 18 interviews) – between one and five months apart. The data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results revealed that participants felt the need to ‘slow down’ from their previous physical activity levels due to physical changes brought on by pregnancy such as fatigue, nausea and/or vomiting and injury potential. The women negotiated underlying tensions associated with the experience of being physically active while pregnant by changing their activities and also by changing their activity-related attitudes as pregnancy progressed. Despite these changes, activity remained important for the women as they persisted with physical activity throughout the course of pregnancy to maintain physical fitness, their health and the health of the baby, to socialise and to relieve stress. These behaviours were partially supported by the participants’ partners, family and friends; however, the women did not perceive this partial support to be constraining and sought out prenatal exercise classes to create a social network with other expecting mothers. Findings highlight the importance of considering women’s experiences when devising health-promotion interventions focused on increasing and improving women’s physical activity behaviours during pregnancy. Participants were heterosexual, highly educated, predominantly white and English speaking; thus, future studies should examine the experience of physical activity during pregnancy in more diverse populations.