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Women’s Experiences Regarding Physical Activity during the Postpartum Period: A Feminist Poststructuralist Study

Although recovery after birth can be promoted through bodily movement, many women do not engage in regular postpartum physical activity. While research studies have identified some of the reasons behind their decisions, including a lack of time, only a limited number of studies have been carried out...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Akbari-Nassaji, Neda, Aston, Megan, Hughes, Jean, Cassidy, Christine, Benoit, Britney
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10052032/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36976693
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13010041
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author Akbari-Nassaji, Neda
Aston, Megan
Hughes, Jean
Cassidy, Christine
Benoit, Britney
author_facet Akbari-Nassaji, Neda
Aston, Megan
Hughes, Jean
Cassidy, Christine
Benoit, Britney
author_sort Akbari-Nassaji, Neda
collection PubMed
description Although recovery after birth can be promoted through bodily movement, many women do not engage in regular postpartum physical activity. While research studies have identified some of the reasons behind their decisions, including a lack of time, only a limited number of studies have been carried out to explore how postpartum physical activity is socially and institutionally constructed. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the experiences of women regarding postpartum physical activity in Nova Scotia. Six postpartum mothers participated in semi-structured, virtual, in-depth interviews. Women’s experiences of postpartum physical activity were examined through a discourse analysis guided by feminist poststructuralism. The following themes were identified: (a) socialization in different ways; (b) social support; (c) mental and emotional health; and (d) being a good role model for their children. The findings indicated that all women perceived postpartum exercise as a positive behavior that can promote mental health, although some postpartum mothers experienced social isolation and a lack of support. Furthermore, social discourses about motherhood caused the personal needs of mothers to be disregarded. The results showed that collaboration among health care providers, mothers, investigators, and community groups is necessary to promote and support mothers’ engagement in postpartum physical activity.
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spelling pubmed-100520322023-03-30 Women’s Experiences Regarding Physical Activity during the Postpartum Period: A Feminist Poststructuralist Study Akbari-Nassaji, Neda Aston, Megan Hughes, Jean Cassidy, Christine Benoit, Britney Nurs Rep Article Although recovery after birth can be promoted through bodily movement, many women do not engage in regular postpartum physical activity. While research studies have identified some of the reasons behind their decisions, including a lack of time, only a limited number of studies have been carried out to explore how postpartum physical activity is socially and institutionally constructed. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the experiences of women regarding postpartum physical activity in Nova Scotia. Six postpartum mothers participated in semi-structured, virtual, in-depth interviews. Women’s experiences of postpartum physical activity were examined through a discourse analysis guided by feminist poststructuralism. The following themes were identified: (a) socialization in different ways; (b) social support; (c) mental and emotional health; and (d) being a good role model for their children. The findings indicated that all women perceived postpartum exercise as a positive behavior that can promote mental health, although some postpartum mothers experienced social isolation and a lack of support. Furthermore, social discourses about motherhood caused the personal needs of mothers to be disregarded. The results showed that collaboration among health care providers, mothers, investigators, and community groups is necessary to promote and support mothers’ engagement in postpartum physical activity. MDPI 2023-03-10 /pmc/articles/PMC10052032/ /pubmed/36976693 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13010041 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Akbari-Nassaji, Neda
Aston, Megan
Hughes, Jean
Cassidy, Christine
Benoit, Britney
Women’s Experiences Regarding Physical Activity during the Postpartum Period: A Feminist Poststructuralist Study
title Women’s Experiences Regarding Physical Activity during the Postpartum Period: A Feminist Poststructuralist Study
title_full Women’s Experiences Regarding Physical Activity during the Postpartum Period: A Feminist Poststructuralist Study
title_fullStr Women’s Experiences Regarding Physical Activity during the Postpartum Period: A Feminist Poststructuralist Study
title_full_unstemmed Women’s Experiences Regarding Physical Activity during the Postpartum Period: A Feminist Poststructuralist Study
title_short Women’s Experiences Regarding Physical Activity during the Postpartum Period: A Feminist Poststructuralist Study
title_sort women’s experiences regarding physical activity during the postpartum period: a feminist poststructuralist study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10052032/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36976693
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13010041
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