REMOTELY MONITORED EXERCISE PROGRAM IN PREGNANT WOMEN WITH OBESITY

D. Bernardo^1,2, C. Carvalho³, J. Mota², P.C. Santos^4,2

¹Instituito Piaget, School oh Heath, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, ²FADEUP, Ciafel, Porto, Portugal, ³Sword Health, Porto, Portugal, ⁴Polytechnic of Porto, School of Health, Porto, Portugal

Background: Maternal obesity is rising worldwide and has been linked to a variety of adverse health outcomes for mothers and newborns. Physical exercise is a safe practice during pregnancy, improving health and it is an alternative for weight management for pregnant women however, pregnant women with obesity had low adherence, low motivation to perform the exercise, and resistance to interventions and behavioral changes. Home-based programs may contribute to modifying motivation and improving physical activity levels.

Purpose: This study aims to present a remotely monitored exercise program, for pregnant women with obesity using the Sword Phenix® system, and to assess, verify and adjust the home-based exercise protocol intensity. Another purpose of the study is to collect the opinions of the participants regarding the biofeedback system and the protocol exercise.

Methods: Twelve pregnant women with Body Mass Index ≥ 30 kg/m², were recruited in obstetric departments of the University Hospital Center of São João, Porto, between May and September 2022. The women were invited to perform for two weeks a home-based structured exercise protocol with a digital biofeedback system (Sword Phoenix®), during exercise the women used an accelerometer to measure the intensity and the Borg’s Scale to measure the perceived exertion of effort to adjust the program for moderate intensity. The Sword Phoenix® system is composed of motion trackers, that allow 3D movement quantification and provide real-time biofeedback which indicates incorrect movements and allows us to correct them.
At the end of the program, the participants responded to a questionnaire asking for their opinion about the system.

Results: The accelerometry results indicate that during the exercise protocol, the pregnant women spend 79.3% of their time in moderate activities. The program was individually readjusted 1 time because one woman reported that the perceived exertion of effort was above 15 on the Borg scale and 3 times because three different pregnant women report exertion of effort behind 12. The adherence to the program was low, with an average in performance of 6 times during the 15 days of the program. The results of the questionnaire demonstrated that 100% (n=12) of the participants enjoyed the system and recognized it as a safe instrument with the potential to increase physical activity during pregnancy, 83.3% (n=10) of women, reported that without the system, they would not have done regular physical activities.

Conclusions: Remotely home-based exercise programs, for pregnant women with obesity, are safe, adapted and enjoyable and had the potential to improve physical activity during pregnancy. Large studies with higher participants number and with a longer program (at least 12 weeks) are needed to verify the efficacy of a home-based structured exercise protocol to improve pregnancy outcomes.

Implications: Home-based and remotely controlled exercise programs can be a useful tool to facilitate or complement the intervention of women's health physical therapists in pregnant women with obesity.

Funding acknowledgements: FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the projects UI/BD/151206/2021 and CIAFEL:FCTUID/DTP/00617/2020; ITR:LA/P/0064/2020.

Keywords:
Home-based
Pregnancy
Exercise

Topics:
Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Innovative technology: robotics
Pelvic, sexual and reproductive health

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: University Hospital Center of São João

Committee: University Hospital Center of São João

Ethics number: 35/22