ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2026
Experiences of healthcare professionals providing physical activity advice to pregnant and postpartum women: a systematic review of qualitative evidence.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: To synthesise global qualitative evidence on healthcare professionals' (HCPs) experiences, barriers and enablers in delivering physical activity (PA) advice to pregnant and postpartum women. Design: Systematic review of qualitative, mixed-methods and multimethod studies, using thematic synthesis. Study quality was assessed using the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence critical appraisal checklist. Data sources: Three electronic databases were searched up to 31 July 2024. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Studies published after 2010 with a qualitative component exploring HCPs' perspectives on providing PA advice in maternity care. Only qualitative data were extracted and synthesised. Results: Twenty-six studies from 10 countries were included, involving midwives, obstetricians, physiotherapists and other HCPs (sample sizes: 7-192), with experience ranging from 0.5 to 41 years. All studies were qualitative, with four using a multimethod study design. 18 studies focused on pregnancy, 3 on postpartum and 5 on both. Seven themes and 24 subthemes were identified. These included HCPs' attitudes toward PA, variability in advice provision and systemic and individual level barriers (eg, time constraints, lack of training, limited confidence). Proposed solutions included formal PA education, institutional support and improved resources. Fifteen studies were rated high quality and 11 moderate. Conclusion: Most studies were from high-income countries, limiting generalisability to low-resource settings. The evidence base was predominantly focused on pregnancy, with limited data on postpartum PA advice. Across settings, HCPs face persistent barriers to delivering effective PA advice. Addressing these challenges through structured training and systemic support is essential to empower HCPs and promote maternal PA engagement. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42023483377.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.