Remote group exercise increased activity in postpartum women

What the study found: An 8-week remotely delivered, group-based exercise program increased objectively measured physical activity in postpartum women and improved some psychosocial measures. The study also found no significant change in health-related quality of life.

Why the authors say this matters: The authors conclude that this type of online, home-based program may help address common barriers in the postpartum period, and they suggest it may support short- and long-term physical and mental health. They also note the potential of scalable online physical activity programs to overcome postpartum barriers.

What the researchers tested: The researchers ran a web-based, two-arm randomized controlled trial in Japan with 175 women who were 2–6 months postpartum. Participants were assigned to either an intervention group or a waitlist control group; the intervention combined weekly instructor-led online group sessions with a structured home-based exercise program and behavioral strategies based on self-determination theory and social cognitive theory.

What worked and what didn't: Compared with controls, the intervention significantly increased daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, which means activity that raises heart rate and breathing, by 5.97 minutes per day and daily step count by 576 steps. Sense of coherence, a measure of how understandable and manageable life feels, increased, and exercise self-efficacy, meaning confidence in exercising, also increased, mainly because participants perceived fewer barriers. Health-related quality of life did not change significantly.

What to keep in mind: The abstract does not describe limitations in detail. The findings apply to postpartum women 2–6 months after birth in this study, and the intervention lasted 8 weeks.

Key points

• An 8-week remote, group-based exercise program increased physical activity in postpartum women.
• Daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity increased by 5.97 minutes per day compared with controls.
• Daily step counts increased by 576 steps per day compared with controls.
• Sense of coherence and exercise self-efficacy increased; health-related quality of life did not.
• The trial included 175 postpartum women in Japan, aged 2–6 months postpartum.