Exercise Parameters and Postpartum Outcomes Among Pregnant Women

Childbirth has always been a critical experience, resulting to physiological changes and imputing physical challenges, such as extreme pain, to a woman. This is why obstetrical inquiries look into factors and ways to make labor pains less dreadful, improve delivery outcome and hasten recovery time. Thus, this study aims to determine the relationship between exercise parameters and the postpartum outcomes among pregnant women in Cagayan de Oro City. This study utilizes an observational cross-sectional method involving 116 pregnant women chosen through convenient sampling method in selected barangays of Cagayan de Oro City. A 5-part questionnaire based from the literature on the parameters of exercise and an adopted questionnaire was used from McGill Pain Questionnaire. Results show that for the demographic characteristics of pregnant women, BMI affects level of pain perception; while age affects both pain perception and delivery outcome; and parity is associated with the occurrence of complications. For the exercise parameters, the type of exercise affects body weight, and frequency of exercise during pregnancy influences type of delivery. Thus, regular exercise program during the course of pregnancy and having ideal demographic characteristics results to shorter and lesser labor pains.

Keywords: Pregnancy, Childbirth, Exercise Parameters, Postpartum outcomes