As many as 81% of women on maternity leave do not undertake any physical activity

Changes in the daily routine of many women in Poland caused by the pandemic and remote work had a negative impact on both their wellbeing (86%) and physical condition (79%). As many as 72% of Polish women currently declare having no time to take care of their health.

24/05/2021

Additionally, the indicator of physical activity among women on maternity or parental leave is also disturbing. Currently only one in five Polish women undertakes physical activity.
According to the “Impact of the pandemic on the career development prospects of women in business” report by Deloitte, as many as 76% of the respondents believe that the pandemic has had a negative impact on their lives. According to the authors of the study, 43% of women currently work from home full-time, while earlier it was only 4%. Consequently, most of them have been trying to reconcile remote work with household chores or educating children for over a year. As a result, 67% of the respondents take care of their relatives by performing three-fourths of related tasks (before the pandemic, there were 43% of them) and 68% declare that they have more household duties such as cleaning and cooking. More than half (54%) also spend more time caring for or educating children (53%).

According to the Deloitte study, changes caused by the pandemic, including remote work, had a negative impact on the psychophysical condition of women. As many as 53% of them complain about the lack of balance between work and private life and nearly half (49%) believe that their employer did not make every effort to provide support that would improve the psychophysical condition at this difficult time.

According to Mateusz Banaszkiewicz, a health psychologist, it is worth strengthening our mental and physical health by undertaking regular physical activity together with our relatives: – It is a good idea to enter regular activities in our calendar and if we have children, it is worth encouraging them to train together, even if we do it at home. According to research, there is a direct relationship between the love of sports in parents and the level of physical activity among children. In this way, a physically active mother communicates beneficial models to her child from an early age. Physical activity becomes natural for a child, therefore he or she is happy to repeat it also in the future. The study by MinKyoung Song from the University of Michigan and her colleagues included data from 24 months of observations. The subjects were 92 mothers of children aged 3-6 and 10-13 years old. The results showed a relationship between how mothers and their children spend their time. Among moderately or more physically active mothers a similar level of activity was observed in children. Children of mothers with a sedentary lifestyle also led a sedentary lifestyle. The observed relationship was twice as strong on the days when mother and child were at home together.

Sporty mum

New mothers should also not forget about physical activity. The WHO recommends them to move regularly, unless there are any medical contraindications. Unfortunately, according to the MultiSport Index 2020 survey, as many as 81% of women on maternity or parental leave are physically inactive. According to the latest recommendations of the World Health Organisation, pregnant and postpartum women should exercise at a moderate intensity for at least 150 minutes a week (including aerobic and muscle strengthening exercises). Exercises that include gentle stretching are also recommended.

– If we have less time for ourselves and we want to take care of our health, including better psychophysical condition, online training at home is a good start. We can choose the type of classes and adapt them to the level of our abilities. Thanks to properly selected training, we can restore our body to health and balance. Our YesMove.com platform offers a wide range of professional exercise sets for active mothers, women after childbirth and those returning to training after a long break. Body & Mind classes, such as a healthy spine, stretching or yoga, are also a good solution as they will relax and calm the body after an intense day – says Elżbieta Furman, Yes2Move physiotherapist and trainer.

It is worth working on regularity and healthy habits also during pregnancy. According to the WHO, pregnant and postpartum women should start with little activity and gradually increase its frequency, intensity and duration. According to experts from the World Health Organisation, physical activity can reduce weight gain during pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes. Moreover, being active during pregnancy does not increase the likelihood of gestational hypertension, premature birth or the risk of having a low weight baby. Additionally, it can minimise the risk of postpartum depression.