Pregnant women and midwives’ perception regarding physical activity recommendation during pregnancy

Physical activity (PA) is a modifiable lifestyle factor which contributes to improve pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. Therefore, pregnant women (PW) without contraindications should practice 150 minutes of moderate PA per week, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Nevertheless, a reduction of PA throughout the gestational period appears to be worryingly common. The aim of this survey was to analyse the feasibility of the WHO recommendations, investigating PW and midwives' perceptions towards PA during pregnancy, in a view to enhance future PA interventions.