Evidence-based Websites to Increase Physical Activity for Pregnant Women

Fewer pregnant women achieve recommendations for physical activity (PA) (30 minutes of moderate PA 5 days of the week) as compared to non-pregnant women (15.8% to 26.1% respectively), and PA participation declines as pregnancy progresses. The benefits of PA during pregnancy are abundant to both the mother (e.g., reduced weight gain, lower risk of gestational diabetes) and the fetus (e.g., decreased fat mass, improved stress tolerance). Pregnancy represents a significant time in a woman's life in which she may be motivated to change her health behaviors due to concerns for the healthy development of the fetus and a quick return to pre-pregnancy weight. Hence, pregnancy represents a critical time to support women in PA participation. In our previous research, 94% of pregnant and postpartum women of varying socioeconomic statuses reported using the Internet for pregnancy and PA information. Despite some women increasing their PA participation as a result, most did not know if a website was reputable or reliable (i.e. evidence-based). Studies have reported that most online health information is unregulated and inaccurate. Further, women often receive inadequate PA information from physicians who are constrained by time and lack of knowledge about PA. Therefore, directing pregnant women to evidence-based websites via text messaging may provide a feasible approach to improve PA participation. PA participation in pregnant women is an ongoing challenge that warrants testing of innovative solutions. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of using mobile phone text messaging to refer pregnant women to evidence-based websites for PA information to increase PA levels.