Profiles of exercise adherence in late pregnancy: A latent profile analysis among Chinese women

Background The benefit of physical activity and exercise interventions for pregnant women crucially depends on adherence. The study aimed to identify latent categories of exercise adherence among pregnant women in the third trimester and explored the influence of these distinct profiles. Methods Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants from three maternal and child health hospitals in China, between November 2024 and June 2025. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify potential classes of exercise adherence among pregnant women in the third trimester; multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the factors associated with these profiles. Results A total of 531 participants were included in this study and were classified as high (n = 59), moderate (n = 239), and low adherence (n = 233) to exercise. Compared to the low-adherence group, the influencing factors for the high-adherence group were weekly exercise habit, pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), exercise self-efficacy, social support, enjoyment of exercise, other commitments, lack of time, and fatigue. Compared to the mid-adherence group, the influencing factors for the high-level group were education level, weekly exercise habit, exercise self-efficacy, social support, lack of time, and fatigue. Conclusion Exercise adherence among pregnant women appeared heterogeneous and presented in three distinct categories. Health workers should develop targeted interventions based on the socio-psychological characteristics of pregnant women in the third trimester to improve their adherence to exercise.