AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2019) Physical activity during pregnancy 2011–12, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 4 June 2026.
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Currently, little is known about how much, and what types of, physical activity pregnant women undertake in Australia. This short report investigates the types and amount of physical activity undertaken by women during pregnancy, with comparisons made between pregnant and non-pregnant women of the same age, and against Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for adults.
Only 3 in 10 pregnant women met the Australian physical activity guideline
Two-thirds of pregnant women were active for fewer than 150 minutes per week
Just over half of pregnant women exercised for fitness, usually walking
The primary data source for this report was the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS’s) Australian Health Survey (AHS) 2011–13. Data presented in this report were extracted from the Detailed Microdata available in the ABS DataLab.
The data quality declaration for the AHS 2011–13 can be found in the ABS publication Australian Health Survey: users’ guide, 2011–13 (ABS cat. no. 4363.0.55.001).
