Prospective examination of pregnant and nonpregnant women’s physical activity beliefs and behaviours

Objective: The purpose was to prospectively assess if the theory of planned behaviour guided physical activity (PA) beliefs and behaviours for pregnant compared to nonpregnant women. Background: Theoretically based prospective studies can advance our understanding and promotion of PA during each trimester of pregnancy. Methods: Participants (N = 81) completed self-report assessments of their PA beliefs and behaviours at Time 1 (first trimester/baseline), Time 2 (second trimester/3 months), and Time 3 (third trimester/6 months). Results: The elicited PA beliefs and behaviours varied by assessment time and group. For the PA beliefs, the nonpregnant women’s (n = 43) salient beliefs were consistent across time. For the pregnant women (n = 38) the beliefs varied across time, with pregnant-specific beliefs that differed by trimester. For example, nausea was a common PA disadvantage reported in the first trimester, compared to increased weight/size in the third trimester; whereas the nonpregnant women reported t...