This Mum Moves
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The impact of a toolkit for healthcare professionals to support physically active pregnancies upon physical activity levels in pregnant women and new mothers: This Mum Moves
IRAS ID
250308
Contact name
James Steele
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
ukactive
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Research Summary
For many people, being active is part of their lives and identity. Sport England recognise this core market as an important audience. It is, however, acknowledged that life events such as a serious injury or illness, children starting school, a new job, having a baby, relocating, retiring, etc. can get in the way of being regularly active. Whilst some people return to their normal physical activity routines, many find it difficult to achieve this. To keep the core market engaged when life changes, it is important to provide support to find opportunities that meet their new needs.
As part of their five-year strategy (2016-2021), Towards an Active Nation, Sport England have established the Core Market fund – Helping the Active Stay Active When Life Changes. The project presented here has benefited from the Core Market fund and will aim at keeping active women active when they become pregnant and subsequently new mothers. This audience constitutes the intended target population and, indeed, it is acknowledged that women who were active before pregnancy are more likely to remain active during pregnancy. It is, however, estimated that only 3-15% of women meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity during pregnancy. Given this small audience, this project will not exclude any pregnant woman on the basis of their physical activity status but will aim to report on its impact across the board.
This Mum Moves is an initiative that aims to support pregnant women and new mothers to stay active by providing healthcare professionals with access to training and resources to facilitate the delivery of clear, consistent and confident messages regarding physical activity engagement. This involves the development of an educational intervention including a healthcare professionals’ toolkit (in line with current guidance and developed in collaboration with expert project partners), as well as an online campaign to help stimulate engagement with physical activity in our target audiences. Through increasing the confidence, skills, and knowledge of healthcare professionals, it is expected that pregnant women and new mothers will be empowered to make informed physical activity choices throughout pregnancy and beyond.
Summary of Results
• Over 400 healthcare professionals have received This Mum Moves ambassador or cascade training in the 5 study locations
• Due to COVID-19 face to face training was replaced with online training
• 97% of participants said they would recommend the training they had undertaken to a friend or colleague
• Healthcare professionals reported being more active in their own lives
• Healthcare professionals felt motivated to pursue additional learning on the topic
• 10% of pregnant women see other pregnant women being active ‘often’ or ‘always’
• Walking is the most popular activity among women at all stages of pregnancy
• 60% of pregnant women felt encouraged to be active by their healthcare professionals in the first trimester.REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1244
Date of REC Opinion
10 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion