Use of Motivational Interviewing for Promotion of Physical Activity During Pregnancy

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a contemporary form of advisory support, which is often used for behavioral change. During the motivational interviewing educated health professional leads the counseling session by asking questions on lifestyle, attitude towards the behavioral change, and factors pro and against the change. During the MI the focus is on the patient/ client, his/her own perception of their health, understanding the reasons for current behavioral patterns, and encouragement to assess these patterns.

Facebook group was specially designed for purposes of intervention and was administered by the research team. It was used to motivate the participants to be more physically active. The intervention used hybrid approach, with health promotion campaign with motivational messages and pictures, journal articles, questions with the aim to spark a discussion on barriers or possibilities for physical activity and participatory approach (all members were allowed to post motivational messages or questions for their peers).