More steps after birth coincided with less moderate-to-vigorous activity
Activity and sleep changed in different directions after pregnancy, while prenatal exercise and counselling showed limited postpartum effects.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
After birth, participants took more daily steps than in late pregnancy, yet time spent in moderate-to-vigorous activity declined. Sleep duration also dropped early postpartum even as reported sleep quality improved. Prenatal activity programs had limited effects after delivery, so the changing activity patterns should not be read as evidence that those programs caused the step increase.
The abstract gives few estimates for differences between intervention groups and does not specify the exact postpartum window for the step comparison. It cannot establish a lasting benefit from prenatal exercise or counselling.
What researchers found
Postpartum daily step count
Compared with late pregnancy during follow-up through 1 year postpartum; p < 0.001. The precise postpartum comparison window was not specified.
Different measures, different patterns
Wrist activity trackers and questionnaires captured different aspects of movement and sleep. The opposite directions of step counts and higher-intensity activity show why the study's measures should be interpreted separately when describing postpartum changes.
Limited intervention effects
Sedentary time stayed similar. The exercise group reported slightly better sleep than the counselling group at the final follow-up, but the abstract gives no effect estimate for judging how substantial that difference was.
The original publication
Mapping postpartum physical activity, sedentary time, and sleep: assessing the impact of prenatal physical activity interventions in the FitMum randomized controlled trial.
Jessen AD, Alomairah SA, Jensen IKB et al.
Sci Rep · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41044147
- Record checked
AI-assisted research and writing. This explains one selected publication; it is not a complete review of everything known. Our approach.
One more question, understood.
Keep track of the research you’ve explored.