1. Physical Activity and Health Promotion Lab Summary and Conclusion
Postpartum Physical Activity and Sleep Levels in Overweight and Normal Weight Mothers
Shane Warehime, MS; Danae Dinkel, PhD; Kailey Snyder, MS; Jung-Min Lee, PhD University of Nebraska at Omaha; School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation; Omaha, NE
Physical Activity and Health Promotion Lab
ABSTRACT
METHODS
RESULTS Cont.
Objective: Objectively examine postpartum mothers’ physical activity (PA) and sleep. Compare PA and sleep of overweight/obese and normal weight postpartum mothers. Setting: A mid-sized city in the Midwestern United States. Participants: Twenty-one mothers who had an infant at least three months old. Participants were classified as normal weight (n = 8) or overweight (n = 13). Methods: PA and sleep levels were gathered for four days at three time intervals in the six months following childbirth. Wrist-worn Actigraph accelerometers were used to collect data. Results: All participants increased PA over time, especially from visit two to visit three. When separated by weight, normal weight participants significantly increased PA from visit two to three, while overweight participants did not. All participants significantly decreased sleep levels from visit two to three and displayed low levels of sleep overall. When separated by weight, overweight participants significantly decreased sleep from visit two to three, while normal weight participants did not. Conclusion: Unfavorable trends appeared in the PA and sleep of all mothers, especially overweight mothers. PA interventions during and after pregnancy may be key in improving these issues.
Experimental Design:
Observational cross-sectional study.
Participants
Twenty-one mothers who had recently given birth (see Table 1).
Methods:
Mothers wore accelerometers on their wrists for four consecutive days at three time points in the first six months postpartum.
Sleep
In all mothers, there was a significant decrease with a moderate effect between visits two (M = ± min/day) and three (M = ± min/day, p = 0.013, d = ).
In overweight mothers there was a significant decrease with a large effect between visits two (M = ± min/day) and three (M = ± min/day, p = 0.037, d = 0.816). This was not seen in the normal weight group.
INTRODUCTION
RESULTS
Background:
Postpartum mothers are likely to lack physical activity (PA) and sleep – two key risk factors for numerous health issues, including postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression is detrimental to mothers’ health as well as the cognitive and behavioral development of their children.
The risks associated with lack of PA and sleep may be compounded for postpartum mothers who are overweight/obese, as carrying excessive body weight is also associated with several health issues.
Although these risks exist for postpartum mothers, research objectively assessing PA and sleep while comparing by weight classification throughout the postpartum period is lacking.
Aims:
Objectively examine postpartum mothers’ PA and sleep.
Compare PA and sleep of overweight/obese and normal weight postpartum mothers.
Hypotheses:
Postpartum mothers will display insufficient levels of PA and sleep.
Normal weight mothers will display higher levels of PA and sleep than overweight mothers.
Physical Activity
In all mothers, there was a significant increase with a moderate effect in PA levels between visits two (M = ± min/day) and three (M = ± min/day, p = 0.021, d = 0.545).
In normal weight mothers there was a significant increase with a large effect between visits two and three (M = ± min/day, p = 0.015, d = 0.936). This was not seen in the overweight group.
Summary and Conclusion
Summary
All mothers increased PA over time and displayed low levels of sleep.
Overweight mothers did not display a significant increase in PA from visits two to three, whereas normal weight mothers did.
Overweight mothers displayed a significant decrease in sleep from visits two to three, whereas normal weight mothers did not.
Conclusion
Efforts are needed to address the PA of overweight postpartum mothers.
Efforts are needed to address the sleep of all postpartum mothers, especially overweight mothers.
PA interventions may be well-suited to address all of the aforementioned recommendations.
Acknowledgments
Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (1P20GM ).