New Research: How Should Healthcare Professionals Communicate with Pregnant Women About Physical Activity?

New research has been published that shines a light on a crucial question: how can healthcare professionals better support pregnant women when it comes to being active?

View the downloadable infographic

A scoping review of 21 UK studies found that many women are still not receiving the guidance they need and when advice is given, it can be inconsistent, unclear, or focused heavily on risks rather than the many benefits of staying active. This can leave women feeling unsure, anxious, or even believing that physical activity during pregnancy is unsafe.

At the same time, healthcare professionals reported feeling underprepared for these conversations. Limited time, lack of training, and uncertainty about current guidelines all contribute to inconsistent messaging.

But there’s positive news. The review provides clear, evidence-based recommendations to improve how these conversations happen.

These include:

• Addressing safety concerns upfront

• Highlighting benefits beyond physical health, including mental wellbeing and social connection

• Using encouraging, non-judgemental language

• Focusing on what women can do, not just what to avoid

To help put these insights into practice, the team has produced a knowledge-translation blog for the British Journal of Sports Medicine, including an infographic summarising the findings.

You can read it HERE

The full open-access paper is also available HERE

For those working with pregnant or postnatal women, here are recommended evidence-based resources we host on our website. Head to our PROFESSIONALS page for more information on:

• This Mum Moves – training, guidance, and community support

• e-LfH Perinatal Physical Activity Module – free e-learning for health and fitness professionals

Also check out:

• CMO Guidelines & Infographic for Pregnancy and After Birth – a practical tool summarising activity recommendations

• Moving Medicine Consultation Guides – supporting meaningful conversations on physical activity

Finally, huge congratulations to lead author Chloë Williamson and co-authors Graham Baker, APF CEO, Dr Marlize De Vivo and APF Trustee, Hayley Mills PhD. Linda Bauld, Reynolds Rebecca, Dr Anna Boath and Paul Kelly.

This work moves us one step closer to ensuring every pregnant woman receives confident, consistent, and empowering advice about staying active.