Sporty Bellies: Intervention program with pregnant women

Abstract

For a healthy pregnancy, it is recommended to create healthy lifestyles. Daily physical activity and a proper and balanced diet are considered essential for the well-being of both pregnant and baby. In this sense, appears the project " Sporty Belly ", which consists in development a program of support and encouragement for pregnant women from Guimarães, through exercise classes and moments of sharing information about most appropriate living habits in this phase. In this paper we aim to present the exercise program that is being carried out and characterize the initial profile of the participants involved in this project , namely the level of physical activity when started the program , BMI before pregnancy and smoking habits. The exercise program is held three times a week, one of which on the aquatic environment and can be attended at any gestational age provided there are no medical or obstetrical contraindications to physical exercise. The classes consist of performing aerobic exercise, strength, balance and stretching. Participated in this intervention program 102 pregnant women aged between 24 and 42 years old, with a mean (standard deviation) 31.91 (3.65). ). Gestational age at begining of the program is 17.22 (5.45) weeks. Before pregnancy n (%) 19 (19.4) were overweight and obese, 71 (69.6) practiced regular exercise before pregnancy and only 6 (5.9) have smoking habits. As regards the level of physical activity, the mean (SD) of the weekly energy expenditure was 159.76 Met- h.wk -1 (89.27), and most is spent in sedentary activities or light intensity (71, 9%).