Promoting Physical Activity During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period.

INTRODUCTION: Physical activity is important for improving and maintaining overall health across the life span, including during and after pregnancy. Achieving recommended levels of physical activity can be challenging during pregnancy and the postpartum period. The US Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion sought to promote physical activity during and after pregnancy through the development of health education materials for the Move Your Way campaign. Research was conducted with pregnant and postpartum people to learn what types of messages and materials would encourage physical activity in these populations. METHODS: Participants were recruited from 3 regions of the United States to participate in 90-minute virtual focus groups. Eligible participants were aged 18 years or older and either pregnant or 6 weeks to 1 year postpartum. Participants were asked questions about their beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions about physical activity and prompted to provide feedback on health promotion messages and images. Sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for key themes. RESULTS: Twenty-four focus groups were conducted with 48 pregnant participants and 52 postpartum participants. Sixteen sessions were conducted in English and 8 were conducted in Spanish. Most participants had questions about how much physical activity is recommended, and many cited their health care provider as a trusted source of information. Participants responded positively to materials that acknowledged the uniqueness of each pregnant or postpartum experience, referenced gradually increasing physical activity levels, highlighted the benefits of physical activity, focused on safety, addressed common barriers, and displayed realistic representations of physical activity. DISCUSSION: There is an opportunity to improve messaging about physical activity during and after pregnancy. To better promote physical activity, perinatal health care providers and other health professionals can share information about recommended amounts of physical activity, communicate the benefits, and promote realistic and achievable physical activity messages that address common barriers in these populations.

Local Implementation of Move Your Way-A Federal Communications Campaign to Promote the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

Background. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) developed the Move Your Way campaign to help more Americans increase their physical activity. The campaign includes more than 80 English and Spanish materials that can be used to promote physical activity. HHS also developed a community-based implementation strategy for the campaign. Methods. HHS collaborated with eight community-based organizations from across the United States to pilot campaign implementation in their communities. A mixed-methods process evaluation was conducted to assess events, partnership involvement, material distribution, and social media engagement. Results. More than 168,000 people participated in 55 campaign events, initiatives, and programs hosted by lead organizations and their 175 partners. More than 37,000 campaign materials were distributed, and there were over 72 million social media impressions. Conclusion. The community-based implementation strategy was effective at reaching the intended audience and driving traffic to Move Your Way resources. The flexibility of the Move Your Way materials and messages allowed communities to incorporate the campaign into diverse physical activity-promotion strategies. Findings demonstrate that the federal government and local community organizations can successfully work together to promote physical activity.