Research

Adherence

Previous exercise history is the strongest predictor of continued exercise during pregnancy, with pre-pregnancy exercisers being significantly more likely to maintain activity.

If you were not active before pregnancy, expect it to be harder to start now. You are statistically much less likely to stick with it than someone who was already active. To overcome this, you need a structured intervention (like the counseling mentioned in N1) rather than just willpower, as building a new habit during pregnancy is challenging.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Ning et al. [23] found that women who were physically active as teenagers were 4 times as likely to be active during pregnancy and more than 12 times as likely to engage in intense LTPA. Owe et al. [24] reported that women who exercised pre-pregnancy were almost 10 times more likely to continue regular LTPA while pregnant.
Brad J. Schöenfeld et al. · Biomedical Human Kinetics · 2011

Why this rating

Multiple observational studies cited showing strong correlations.

Source

Overcoming psychosocial barriers to maternal exercise: intervention strategies to improve participation and adherence

Brad J. Schöenfeld et al. · Biomedical Human Kinetics · 2011

narrative_reviewCited 2×
Read the paper

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →