Physical Activity Counselling Received Throughout Pregnancy and Effect on Behaviours: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to examine the frequency of physical activity (PA) counselling for pregnant women over the course of their pregnancies and the effect on the women's PA behaviour. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in the maternity unit of a hospital. In total, 72 pregnant women were randomized into a control or intervention group. Counselling about PA was dispensed to the women in the intervention group throughout pregnancy by health professionals who had been sensitized to its importance and the recommendations. The women in the control group received the usual consultation content. The PA behaviour of pregnant women in the intervention group who reported receiving PA counselling was evaluated. The counselling and PA levels were evaluated by chi-square tests and repeated measures analysis of variance, respectively. RESULTS: Overall, the women received little counselling in accordance with the recommendations, although the intervention group women received this counselling more frequently (P = 0.049). All women in the intervention group who reported receiving counselling throughout pregnancy limited their decline in PA compared with those in the control group. The decline in total PA among normal-weight and overweight pregnant women was reduced in the intervention group (respectively, P = 0.043 and P = 0.044). CONCLUSION: Our intervention showed the effectiveness of counselling on PA behaviour, although the effect was observed at the end of pregnancy. Training and sensitizing for professionals should be strengthened to ensure that counselling in line with the recommendations to maintain or increase PA levels throughout pregnancy is provided.

[The opinion of private duty nurses in Martinique on the vaccination of elderly subjects]. / L'opinion des infirmiers libéraux en Martinique sur la vaccination des sujets âgés.

Improving immunisation coverage for older adults is a public health issue. Since 2008, nurses have been authorised to vaccinate this population against influenza without a medical prescription. One study examined the opinions of a sample of 78 private duty nurses in Martinique on influenza and anti-tetanus vaccination of elderly populations. The majority of nurses said they were not in favour of vaccination.

Text Messages Promoting Mental Imagery Increase Self-Reported Physical Activity in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study tested whether text messages prompting adults 50 years of age and older to perform mental imagery would increase aerobic physical activity (APA) duration using a randomized parallel trial design. METHOD: Participants were assigned to an Imagery 1, Imagery 2, or placebo group. For 4 weeks, each group was exposed to two conditions (morning text message vs. no morning text message). In the morning message condition, the imagery groups received a text message with the instruction to mentally imagine performing an APA, and the placebo group received a placebo message. All participants received an evening text message of "Did you do your cardio today? If yes, what did you do?" for 3 days per week. RESULTS: Participants of the imagery groups reported significantly more weekly minutes of APA in the morning text message condition compared with the no morning message condition. CONCLUSION: Electronic messages were effective at increasing minutes of APA.

It's time to increase physical activity promotion among pregnant women in France.

BACKGROUND: The lockdown linked to COVID-19 was shown to have negative effects on healthy behaviors in the general population, prompting the implementation of adapted public health measures. However, more vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women, were not specifically taken into account. At the time of writing this study, we know little about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the physical activity (PA) behavior of pregnant women in France. Given the many reports in the literature about women's low level of PA throughout pregnancy and the negative effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on behaviors in the general population; however, we might assume that their sedentary behaviors increased. The current study aimed to analyze the French recommendations and PA promotion among pregnant women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was done using PubMed for the key terms "physical activity/physical activity promotion," "pregnant women/pregnancy,", and "French population/France." All the relevant studies were included to support the argument for this narrative review. RESULTS: Efforts to promote PA for pregnant women often seem ineffective and even unrealistic, and many women become overweight or obese during pregnancy. Health professionals need evidence-based guidelines and continuous training and skills development in order to convincingly encourage women to be more active during pregnancy and the postpartum period. CONCLUSION: Health policies should strengthen PA promotion among pregnant women with detailed evidence-based guidelines on PA during postpartum.

Association Between Maternal Body Mass and Physical Activity Counseling During Pregnancy.

Aims: The antenatal period provides an important opportunity for giving advice on healthy lifestyle choices. However, the prevalence of maternal obesity is increasing, and women report that they do not receive counseling. We investigated the information given to pregnant women on gestational weight gain, physical activity, and nutrition during pregnancy in relation with their initial weight status, current gestational weight gain and diagnoses of either pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity or excessive gestational weight gain. Methods: Cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire. Pregnant participants (n = 141) were recruited from a midwife center. They completed a structured questionnaire on the information they received during their pregnancy and we assessed its relationship with their weight. Results: We found that many pregnant women did not receive advice about physical activity, gestational weight gain and nutrition (37.5, 53.2, and 66.2%, respectively). Women with weight problems (pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity and excessive gestational weight gain) were less targeted for counseling, although more than 80% of the women viewed receiving information on these topics as positive. Also, being informed of a weight problem was associated with a greater chance of receiving information about physical activity, gestational weight gain and nutrition (all p < 0.05). However, verbalization of the weight problems was low (14.0% of women with pre-pregnancy overweight were informed of their status). Conclusion: Health professionals should dispense more information, especially on PA and particularly for women with weight problems. Verbalization of the weight problem seems associated with more frequent transmission of information.

Prenatal Counseling throughout Pregnancy: Effects on Physical Activity Level, Perceived Barriers, and Perinatal Health Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Physical activity during pregnancy has many health benefits. However, the physical activity level is insufficient throughout pregnancy and women report perceived barriers to physical activity. This study assessed the impact of a counseling intervention offered in addition to routine pregnancy care on physical activity patterns, perceived barriers, and perinatal health outcomes. A quasi-experimental trial was conducted in the Maternity Unit of a hospital in Guadeloupe (a French department). Ninety-six pregnant women were allocated to a control or intervention group. Regular physical activity counseling was dispensed to the women in the intervention group by trained healthcare providers. The physical activity level and the perceived barriers were assessed in each trimester. Outcomes for the perinatal health of the mother and child were measured throughout pregnancy and after delivery. The perceived barriers, such as a lack of information about the health benefits and risks over the two trimesters (all p < 0.05) and insecurity related to practice throughout pregnancy (all p < 0.05), were different in favor of the intervention group. There were no significant between-group differences for the major indices of physical activity, whether measured or reported. The intervention women reported significantly more sedentary activity compared with the control group in the third trimester, 64.7 (36.4-78.7) vs. 22.7 (9.4-49.8) MET-hours/week, respectively (p < 0.001). The perinatal health outcomes for the mother and child showed no significant differences. The intervention was unable to limit the decline in physical activity or improve health outcomes. However, it was associated with an improvement in the perception of barriers. Future research should focus on interventions that have a sufficient quantitative impact on perceived barriers in order to limit physical activity decline.