A project led by researchers at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone aims to contribute to Ireland's first evidence-based guidelines for returning to exercise postpartum.
In partnership with the Regional Hospital Mullingar, the MAMAMOVE project is being co-created by women in the midlands through focus groups and lived experience.
Alongside clinicians, the project hopes to identify the real barriers to exercise, from childcare issues to physical fear.
The aim of this project is to create a safe roadmap for women returning to exercise and is led by the SHE Research Centre based on the TUS Athlone campus, in partnership with Regional Hospital Mullingar.
"This isn’t about getting in shape after pregnancy" explains Dr Emma Cowley, lead researcher on the project.
"Without proper guidance, new mothers face a risk of musculoskeletal pain, pelvic floor impairments, or complete disengagement from physical activity out of fear and confusion.
"Approximately 35% of women with a "normal" pre-pregnancy body mass index will experience overweight or obesity one year postpartum, driving a 28 - 48% increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life."
Unlike traditional "top-down" medical studies, researchers say the MAMAMOVE project will be co-created by the women who have given birth.
They say the study will build Ireland's first open-access dataset on postpartum wellbeing.
The team at TUS will conduct clinical testing - measuring fasting blood glucose, cholesterol and inflammatory markers - to explore the programme's direct impacts on women's long-term health.
Dr Cowley says that MAMAMOVE envisions a future "where a graded, supported return to exercise is a standard, fully integrated part of the national postpartum care pathway".
According to the research, maternity education provides guidance on sleep and eating but offers little evidence-based support for a safe return to exercise.
Researchers say this initiative comes in response to a gender gap in sport and exercise data that shows only 6% of research between 2014 and 2021 focused exclusively on women, leaving a "dangerous knowledge gap" for women recovering from pregnancy.
Beyond the immediate clinical trial, the research also aims to develop the first postpartum-specific mobile app and a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to train midwives and public health nurses nationally.
The initiative involves collaboration with the Regional Hospital Mullingar, the University of Ghent in Belgium as well as postpartum experts based in the UK.
