The Impact of the Gestational Period and Weight on Individual, Task and Environmental Constraints as Related to Perceived Confidence when Completing Ambulatory Tasks in Pregnant Women
Abigayle E Fontaine, Eryk P Przysucha and Taryn Klarner
Background: Pregnancy and the physical, sensory, perceptual, and motor changes that coincide with
pregnancy can affect a person’s ability to perform basic activities of daily living (ADL’s) that involve
ambulation. Previous research suggested that weight and gestational age (trimester) are factors
that impact woman’s ability to ambulate through daily tasks, however, these issues require further
investigation. Newell's model of constraints was used as a framework to shape the questionnaire
investigating the ability to perform different ambulatory activities across various constraints. Thus, the
purpose of this study was to examine whether variables such as pre-pregnancy weight (under vs. over
155 pounds) and trimester (before vs. after 26 weeks) had an impact on the ability and perception to
perform different tasks requiring ambulation.
Methods: Twenty pregnant or postpartum women (M = 29.7 years; SD = 3.6) were recruited and
asked to complete a 15-item online survey exploring their abilities to complete a variety of daily
tasks involving balance. Also, open ended questions were posed to gain qualitative insight into their
experiences. A series of independent samples T-tests were used to analyse the data.
Findings: The results revealed predominantly no statistical differences between the levels of the
variables manipulated. At the descriptive level the women indicated that they were relatively
comfortable performing the different tasks. However, the qualitative responses suggested that although
they were capable, they expended a substantial amount of energy to avoid falling, resulting in fatigue
and soreness. Also, they experienced overall mental anguish and feelings of being overwhelmed when
performing even simple tasks involving gait.
Conclusion: Overall, it was surprising that weight and gestational age, which intuitively should have
an impact, did not have a more pronounced effect on the women’s confidence in performing ambulation
tasks. Nevertheless, qualitative responses confirmed the challenging effects of pregnancy on the way
women engage in activities of daily living.
