A prospective cohort assessment of maternal physical activity in Migori County

Abstract

Maternal nutrition is critical for both mother and child as it lays fundamental foundation for the successful outcome of pregnancy. Nutrition of pregnant women is critical for it contributes immensely to the outcome of pregnancy. Kenya’s high rates of undernutrition among women of reproductive age are due to sub-optimal feeding practices, heavy workload, among others among pregnant women leading to preterm births, low birth weight, high mortality and morbidity, impaired growth, and increased risks during childbirth for both mother and child. This study assessed physical activity and determined their relationships before and after a counselling intervention among pregnant women. A prospective cohort study design was used and simple random sampling was used to obtain a sample of 150 pregnant women from three sub-county hospitals purposively selected for study. Pregnant women of GA ≤26 were recruited and enrolled into Nutrition Counselling intervention study. Data was International Physical Activity Questionnaire, biochemical. Data was collected at baseline and after intervention for each woman and data was analyzed by IPAQ scoring protocol and SPSS and t-tests were used to test for differences between means. There were slight reductions in physical activity factors and increased time for rest was observed after intervention although there were no significant reductions in activity levels at p ≤ 0.05. The finding is important to central and local governments, civil society, intergovernmental agencies, research groups, business enterprises and community under study. The study fills the knowledge gap and therefore contributes to the advancement of knowledge. This study finding contributes to the advancement of knowledge and is also important to the Government, Non-governmental organizations, Research and Business bodies and Community under study.