Abstract

This study examined perceived benefits of exercise among pregnant mothers in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. Six research questions guided the study. The cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of all pregnant women in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a sample of four hundred participants for the study. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using simple percentage, mean, standard deviation and ANOVA at 0.05level of significance. The finding of this study showed that the perceived benefits of exercise among pregnant mothers in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State was 3.15, SD=0.43. The proportion of women that Engage in any planned programme of physical exercise is high and the most common exercises among pregnant women in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State was stretching (M=1.87, SD=0.34) and was followed by Brisk walking/jogging (M=1.81, SD=0.39) while the least was Yoga/meditation/breathing exercise (M=1.73, SD=0.45). The result showed a non significant difference in the perceived benefits of exercise among pregnant mothers in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State based on age (F=0.62, df=2, p>.05) and based on number of children at home (F=0.54, df=2, p>.05). The result showed a significant difference in the perceived benefits of exercise among pregnant mothers in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State based on level of education (F=16.04, df=3, p<.05). It was recommended that there should be increased awareness on the usefulness of prenatal exercise to pregnant women by NGOs.