Level of physical activity and associated factors during pregnancy among women who gave birth in Public Zonal Hospitals of Tigray

OBJECTIVES: Physical activity in the general population is considered too low, and this is true for pregnant women.

Moderate physical activity during pregnancy have many benefits for the mother and the developing baby.

This study was aimed to assess the level of physical activity during pregnancy and associated factors in public zonal hospitals of Tigray, Ethiopia.

A hospital based cross-sectional study was used and 458 study participants was selected using multistage sampling technique.

The data were collected using standardized pregnancy physical activity questionnaire.

RESULT: Out of 442 women who participated in this study, only 21.9% were physically inactive.

Parity [AOR = 7.68; 95% CI (3.193, 18.459)], maternal occupation [AOR = .015; 95% CI (.003, .083)], history of miscarriage [AOR = 8.045; 95% CI (3.325, 19.465)], maternal age AOR = 4.67; 95% CI (1.431, 15.254)], were the variables that showed statistical association with level of physical activity during pregnancy.

Level of physical activity during pregnancy was generally high.

Thus, it would be optimal if health professionals can take a more active role in promoting physical activity during pregnancy.

ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-019-4496-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.