A Pilot Study on the Impact of the BumptUp® Mobile App on Physical Activity during and after Pregnancy

• Published in: Sustainability 2022-10, Vol.14 (19), p.12801
• Main Authors: Tinius, Rachel A, Blankenship, Maire M, Colao, Alison M, Hawk, Gregory S, Perera, Madhawa, Schoenberg, Nancy E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applications programs; Brochures; Cell phones; Diabetes; Exercise; Health aspects; Healthcare industry software; Hypertension; Intervention; Maternal & child health; Mental health; Methods; Morbidity; Mothers; Patient outcomes; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Postpartum; Postpartum period; Pregnancy; Pregnant women; Prenatal care; Smartphones; Statistical analysis; Sustainability; Technology application; Telemedicine; Testing; Womens health
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su141912801

To combat maternal morbidity and mortality, interventions designed to increase physical activity levels during and after pregnancy are needed. Mobile phone-based interventions show considerable promise, and BumptUp® has been carefully developed to address the lack of exercise among pregnant and postpartum women. The primary goal of this pilot study was to test the potential efficacy of BumptUp® for improving physical activity among pregnant and postpartum women. A randomized controlled clinical trial was performed (N = 35) with women either receiving access to the mhealth app or an educational brochure. Physical activity and self-efficacy for exercise data were collected at baseline (in mid-pregnancy) and at three additional timepoints (late pregnancy, 6 and 12 weeks postpartum). For moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, a clear trend is observed as the mean estimated difference between groups increases from −0.35 (SE: 1.75) in mid-pregnancy to −0.81 (SE: 1.75) in late pregnancy. For self-efficacy for exercise, the estimated difference of means (control–intervention) changed from 0.96 (SE: 6.53) at baseline to −7.64 (SE: 6.66) in late pregnancy and remained at −6.41 (SE: 6.79) and −6.70 (SE: 6.96) at 6 and 12 weeks postpartum, respectively. When assessing the change in self-efficacy from mid-to -ate pregnancy only, there was a statistically significant difference between groups (p = 0.044). BumptUp® (version 1.0 (3)) shows potential for efficacy. Pilot data suggest key refinements to be made and a larger clinical trial is warranted.