Mode of Birth and Adherence to WHO Physical Activity Guidelines: A Cross-Sectional Study of Danish Postpartum Mothers

AimThe objective of this paper is to investigate if the prevalence proportion ratio of non-adherence to the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week differed among Danish mothers based on mode of birth. We hypothesised that women who gave birth via caesarean section adhere less to the WHOs recommendations compared with women who gave birth vaginally. MethodThis population-based cross-sectional study is based on data from 1,919 Danish mothers participating in the Danish National Health Survey from 2021 and the Danish Medical Birth Register. Mode of birth was dichotomised into either caesarean section or vaginal birth based on diagnostic codes in the Danish Medical Birth Register. Physical activity measured as weekly minutes of MVPA based on the self-reported physical activity in the Danish National Health Survey. Based on the answers of the survey, the mothers were dichotomised into two groups: adherers to the WHO guidelines of PA and non-adherers to the WHO guidelines of PA. The prevalence proportion of non-adherence to WHO guidelines was compared between the two modes of birth. FindingsThe prevalence proportion of non-adherence was 2% lower among mothers who gave birth via caesarean section compared with mothers who gave birth vaginally, but with a 95% confidence interval ([0.90; 1.06]) indicating a statistically non-significant difference. ConclusionThis study found no statistically significant difference in non-adherence to the WHO PA guidelines between mothers who gave birth via caesarean section and mothers who gave birth vaginally.