[Barriers and facilitators for physical activity during pregnancy and postpartum in women living in poverty of Mexico].

Objective: To explore perceptions of healthcare providers and beneficiaries of Oportunidades program on physical activity during pregnancy and post-partum; and identify current reported practices related to counseling on physical activity in the primary healthcare services in Mexico.
Materials and Methods: A mixed methods approach was used which is part of a nutrition intervention of the Oportunidades program. Qualitative information was collected through interviews (50=women; 34=providers) and quantitative information was collected by questionnaires (n=88 women; n=64 provider; n=111 observations during consultation).
Results: The main barriers were: a) individual (lack of time and social support to childcare); b) sociocultural (gender bias derived from peer groups or family and lack of instructors), and c) environmental (lack of safe and adequate physical places). Only 38% of beneficiary women reported having been counseled on physical activity vs 63.4% of providers who reported having counseled on physical activity (p=0.002).
Conclusion: There is a need to train healthcare providers and to promote physical activity during pregnancy and post-partum for reducing associated biases.