OBJECTIVE To determine if eating habits, physical activity and BMI can influence assisted reproduction outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study analyzed 436 patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles. Patients answered a questionnaire and regression analysis examined the relationship between lifestyle and BMI with the intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles outcomes. RESUL...

BACKGROUND Physical activity during pregnancy is associated with reduced risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. However, the majority of pregnant women are inactive and interventions designed to increase exercise during pregnancy are sparse. We evaluated the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an exercise intervention among a diverse sample of pregnant women. METHODS The B.A.B.Y. (B...

BACKGROUND The Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ) assesses physical activity practices of pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to identify specific pregnancy practices that were associated with a healthy gestational weight gain (GWG). METHODS Associations between PPAQ scores, pedometer steps, energy intakes (EI), energy expenditures (EE), and rate of GWG were assessed f...

Previous case-control studies suggest that recreational physical activity protects against preeclampsia. Using a prospective design, the authors estimated the risk of preeclampsia for pregnant women according to level of physical activity, taking other variables that influence risk into consideration. The data set comprised 59,573 pregnancies from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (19...

BACKGROUND Evidence suggests physical activity often declines during pregnancy, however explanations for the decline are not well understood. The aim of this study was to identify modifiable barriers to leisure-time physical activity among women who did not meet physical activity guidelines during pregnancy. METHODS Analyses were based on data from 133 mothers (~3-months postpartum) who were ...

The mental and physical health benefits of exercise during pregnancy highlight the importance of understanding the determinants of pregnant women's physical activity. This paper presents a review of the existing research on pregnancy and physical activity, in order to (a) summarize the existing body of literature since 1986 examining changes in physical activity during pregnancy, (b) summarize ...

violence and the threat of violence against pregnant women are main barriers to women’s empowerment and equal participation in society. when stress and violence increase in developing societies, women’s safety in the home, workplace and community is often seriously affected. to determine the prevalence of physical abuse in pregnant women and to assess association between physical violence durin...

ISSUE ADDRESSED There is contradictory research assessing physical activity patterns during pregnancy and postpartum among women who are overweight or obese. The aim of this study was to evaluate physical activity among overweight and obese women over the course of pregnancy and the initial postpartum period. METHODS Three hundred and five overweight or obese pregnant women completed physical...