The Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices towards Exercise among Women Attending Antenatal Care at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia

Introduction: Appropriate exercises during pregnancy have proved to be beneficial to many
expectant mothers, though how much and what kind of exercises varies from person to person.
Gaining a greater understanding of women’s knowledge, attitudes and practices about exercise during
pregnancy may inform the design of exercise interventions for this population to maximise exercise
adherence and lifelong physical activity patterns.
Aims: The aim of the study was to obtain information on the knowledge, attitudes and practices
towards exercise among women attending antenatal care at the University Teaching Hospital in
Lusaka, Zambia.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional exploratory study. Data was collected using a semi structured
questionnaire and summarized using descriptive statistics. The chi-square test was used to test
associations and the significance level was set at 5%.
Results: Pregnant women practice general physical activities of daily living such as walking and
household chores during pregnancy. Three hundred pregnant women participated in the study and
majority (n=222) 74% showed inadequate levels of knowledge on the type of exercises done in
pregnancy. Knowledge and attitude were positively associated with the educational level (p<0.03)
although exercise practice in relation to the educational level was insignificant. The number of
pregnancies were also positively associated with the pregnant women’s knowledge (p=0.001), attitude
(p<0.01) and practice (p=0.01) towards exercise in pregnancy.
Conclusions: Pregnant women practice general physical activities of daily living such as walking and
household chores during pregnancy. Additionally, their information on exercise lacked detail, was
inconsistent and with little specificity. This implies that during antenatal health talks information on
exercise activities given to the pregnant may be lacking detail Health professionals who are experts in
exercise sciences must be involved to provide correct and adequate information on exercises to the
women. This is because engaging in exercise activities for pregnant women will only help maintain
fitness levels but also, contribute to the reduction of discomforts and prevention of diseases such as
gestational diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and back pain disabilities.