Table 1

Background characteristics of 300 nulliparous women with planned birthplace at Akershus University Hospital, Norway

VariableValue
Age (years) (±SD)28.7±4.3
Weight before this pregnancy (kg) (±SD)67.2±12.1
BMI before this pregnancy (m/kg2) (±SD)23.9±3.9
Marital status
 Married or cohabitant (n (%))287 (95.7)
 Single or divorced (n (%))13 (4.3)
Educational level
 College/university (n (%))226 (75.3)
 Primary school, high school or other (n (%))74 (24.7)
Smoking before this pregnancy
 Yes, daily (n (%))33 (11.0)
 Yes, sometimes (n (%))44 (14.7)
 No (n (%))223 (74.3)
General cardio exercise before this pregnancy (n (%))
 <20 min 3 times weekly high or 30 min 5 times weekly moderate intensity183 (61)
 ≥20 min 3 times weekly high or 30 min 5 times weekly moderate intensity117 (39)
General strength exercise before this pregnancy (n (%))
 <2 times weekly245 (81.7)
 ≥2 times weekly55 (18.3)
Working before this pregnancy (n (%))
 Yes (including the women who were on sick leave, n=11)277 (92.3)
 No (homemaker, job seeker or student)23 (7.7)
  • Numbers with percentages (%), mean with SD.

  • BMI, body mass index.