IMPACT OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING PREGNANCY ON OBSTETRIC OUTCOMES IN TAIF, SAUDI ARABIA

Objective: To identify the impact of Physical Activity (PA) during pregnancy on obstetric outcomes. Material And Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, King Faisal Maternity Hospital, situated in Taif city, Saudi Arabia from July to December, 2018. Three hundred women from maternity clinic, delivery rooms and those admitted in wards were recruited through non-probability convenience sampling technique. Women who delivered recently of age 18 to 45 years with no psychiatric illness and willing to give informed consent were invited to participate in this research. Primary data was collected using a structured closed ended questionnaire on socio demographic and maternal characteristics, physical activity during pregnancy, self-reported health status and obstetric outcomes (i.e. gestational age at delivery in week, birth weight, living status, admission to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and mode of delivery). Analysis was performed on SPSS version 21. Results: The mean (SD) age in years of the study participant was 27.3 (4.6). Majority of study participants during pregnancy were overweight (37%), followed by normal weight (33%) and obese (30%). Majority of the study participants were multiparous (51%), followed by nullparity (24%) and grand multipara (25%). Important, around ninety eight percent of the study participants were non-smokers, while nineteen percent were passive smokers. There were only eighty one study participants (27%) who affirmed managing 150 minutes/ week of moderate/ vigorous physical activities in leisure time. No significant difference was found in self-reported health status during pregnancy by the study participants having less than 150 minutes of PA per week (Group A) to those having 150 minutes or more time spent in PA per week (Group B). Significant difference was observed in gestational age at delivery in weeks between two groups (39.3 vs. 38.9; p-value = 0.0018), while no significant difference was identified in obstetric outcomes (birth weights, living status, admission to NICU and mode of delivery) betweenthe two groups. Conclusion: The level of physical activity had significant impact on gestational age at delivery in weeks. Moreover, the recommended physical activity appeared to improve the obstetric outcomes; birth weight at delivery, living status, reduced NICU admission and mode of delivery as vaginal.