Attitudes and Behavior of Pregnant Omani Women towards Gestational Weight Gain and Exercise during Pregnancy: A survey study.

Abstract

Abstract
Objective:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitude of pregnant Omani women
toward their current weight, healthy weight gain and exercise during pregnancy. And to
investigate their views on what they might consider as helpful resources to prevent excessive
gestational weight gain.
Methods:A cross sectional study was conducted in Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH)
between October and December 2016. One hundred and eighty pregnant Omani women
between 19 to 45 years of age were recruited. A questionnaire was used to collect the data.
Statistical analysis using Pearson’s chi-square test was conducted to evaluate the association
between the study variables and Body Mass Index (BMI) group.
Results: The prevalence of obesity among the study sample was 37%. Out of the obese group,
58% felt uncomfortable about their weight (P value <0.05). Most pregnant Omani women
stopped exercising when they got pregnant. Only 34% of women in this sample exercised during
pregnancy. Significant associations were found between the concern about potential weight
gain and BMI group (P value =0.05). Fourteen percent of the women gained excessive weight
but did not lose it after delivering previous babies and majority of them were classified as obese
(p value <0.05). Feeling tired and lack of time were the main reasons reported for not exercising
during pregnancy.

Conclusion: The results suggest that attitude of pregnant Omani women is reasonable toward
weight gain and exercise during pregnancy. However, only few of them exercised during
pregnancy, which highlights the fact that practicing physical activities were inadequate.
Keywords: Omani women, Pregnancy, Attitude, Exercise, Excessive gestational weight gain,
weight, BMI, body mass index.