2025 Volume 25 Issue 2 Pages 35-42
This study aimed to explore the physical activity during pregnancy, and the awareness of physical fitness, amount of muscle mass, and amount of hand strength in the early postpartum period. The participants were 500 women in the early postpartum period who had given birth between 37- and 42-weeks of gestation. The methods employed were a self-administered questionnaire and a measurement of muscle mass and hand strength. Muscle mass was defined as the skeletal muscle mass index, which was calculated from measurements of the whole body, including the upper limbs, lower limbs, and trunk.
Data from 477 participants were analyzed, and the following results were obtained. In the group that felt less physically active during pregnancy, there was a significant reduction in the time spent “walking/standing” after 37 weeks of pregnancy (p= .021). Muscle mass and hand strength results indicated that the “non-preterm managed hospitalization” group had significantly less trunk muscle mass than the “no-rest” group (p= .003). Participants who were involved in childcare or were caregivers during pregnancy had significantly more muscle mass and hand strength than those who were not (p‹ .001, p= .043).
The results suggest that providing specific guidance on physical activity during mid- to late pregnancy is important to maintain physical activity levels in pregnant women.
