Knowledge, practice and attitude of postnatal mothers towards postnatal exercises in a rural area of Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Introduction: Postpartum period or puerperium is the first six weeks after child birth, when the body undergoes major physiological changes. It is a critical transition time for women affecting significantly her physical as well as mental health. Objectives: To assess the knowledge, practice and attitude of mothers towards postnatal exercise and to find out the association between demographic variables and knowledge, attitude, practice of postnatal exercise among mothers. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study, based on a semi structured pretested questionnaire which was distributed to mothers during a period of 1 month (December-January 2019) in a rural area of Kulasekharam, Kanyakumari district Tamil Nadu. Results: In our study 22% of participants had adequate knowledge on postnatal exercise. 52% had a positive attitude towards postnatal exercise and 58% practiced postnatal exercises. A strong association has been found between knowledge, attitude, practice and some demographic variables (education, occupation and socioeconomic status). Conclusion: Data revealed that our participants had poor Knowledge and Practice, but more than half had a positive attitude towards practicing postnatal exercise. Hence health education and awareness programs for pregnant women as well as their family members regarding postnatal exercise must be introduced right from the antenatal period to improve the current scenario.

Knowledge, attitude and practice of post-natal exercises among post-natal women from a tertiary care centre, South India

“…This findings were in concordance with Alharqi et al (65% awareness) but discordant with Sreenivasan A et al, Ashok VG et al, (6.7% and 22% awareness respectively). 4,12,13 Better knowledge in this study may be attributed to the domicile nature of this study population as all of them either from semi urban or urban area and also more than half of this study population were graduates.…”

Evidence and consensus-based clinical practice guideline for the management of obesity and overweight in postpartum women: An AIIMS-DST initiative

“…Cross-sectional surveys had been conducted for assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices regarding the diet to be followed during the postpartum period, initiation of physical activity, perceptions about weight, myths driven by the socio-cultural environment, breastfeeding practices and attitude toward postpartum weight retention. [ 36 37 ] Besides, components of knowledge, attitude and practice for energy intake, energy expenditure, self-monitoring and self-regulation were also assessed. [ 38 ]…”