DR RAPHAEL F. ANI

This study was carried out to investigate the knowledge and perception of pregnant women in
Ikphoba-Okha LGA towards the benefits of exercise in pregnancy. A total of two hundred (200)
respondents who are pregnant women were selected for this study.
A descriptive survey research design was used. Instrument used for data collection was a
questionnaire which was developed by the researcher. It was validated by two (2) experts in the
field of Human Kinetics and Sports Science. The simple count, frequency percentage was used to
analyse the demographic information of students. Mean and standard deviation was used to
analyse the response of the respondents to the research questions raised.
Findings of this study was able to basically discover that the respondents are adequately aware
of the benefits of exercise during pregnancy and they have great and positive perception towards
the benefits of exercise during pregnancy. The respondents were also discovered to participate
so well in exercise during pregnancy although few of them signified that they don’t regularly get
involved in exercise during pregnancy. Some factors were identified to influence how pregnant
women in the study get involved in exercise and these factors include lack of motivation, level of
maternal health education, lack of time and how available the facilities for exercise are. Hence,
it is important to declare that these factors must be specifically assessed and addressed in the
study to ensure and encourage the involvement of pregnant women in regular exercise.