Aerobic, Strength, Kegel (ASK) Exercise Intervention Perceptions for Postpartum Health

Aerobic, Strength, Kegel (ASK) Exercise Intervention Perceptions for Postpartum Health: a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn whether a 12-week home-based exercise programme is feasible, acceptable, and safe for postpartum women in Hong Kong who had hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The exercise programme is called the Aerobic, Strength, and Kegel exercise programme, or ASK programme.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

• Can postpartum women follow the ASK exercise programme at home?
• Is the ASK exercise programme acceptable and safe?
• Does the ASK exercise programme show early benefits for postpartum recovery and health?

Researchers will compare women who receive the ASK exercise programme with women who receive standard postnatal care.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups. They will complete study assessments at the beginning of the study and after 12 weeks. Women in the ASK exercise programme group will complete three 60-minute exercise sessions per week for 12 weeks, supported by a mobile app and wearable device. Women in the standard postnatal care group will continue to receive usual postnatal care.

This is a parallel-group pilot randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and preliminary effectiveness of the ASK Programme, a 12-week home-based postpartum exercise intervention for Asian women in Hong Kong. The ASK Programme combines aerobic training, strength training, and Kegel-based pelvic floor muscle training, and is delivered through a study app with wearable-supported monitoring.

Eligible participants will be enrolled at 6 to 8 weeks postpartum and randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either the ASK Programme intervention group or the standard postnatal care control group. Participants in the intervention group will complete three home-based ASK exercise sessions per week for 12 weeks. Each session will include warm-up, aerobic training, strength training, pelvic floor muscle training, and cool-down. The control group will receive standard postnatal care.

Assessments will be conducted at baseline and within 1 week after completion of the 12-week intervention. The study will collect feasibility, adherence, safety, acceptability, clinical, behavioral, psychosocial, physiological, cardiometabolic, and exploratory biological data to inform the design of a future full-scale randomized controlled trial.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female Asian postpartum women aged 18 to 45 years
• Singleton pregnancy
• 6 to 8 weeks postpartum at the time of enrolment
• Medically stable after childbirth
• Physically able to participate in low-to-moderate intensity exercise training
• Able and willing to participate in the 12-week study programme
• Able to use the study app and wearable device, or willing to receive instruction on their use
• Able to provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Multiple pregnancy
• Severe postpartum medical complications or conditions contraindicating exercise participation
• Severe cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, or major musculoskeletal conditions that may limit safe participation in exercise
• Current use of medication likely to substantially affect cardiac function, including heart failure therapy
• Antibiotic treatment within the preceding month
• Severe mental illness or other condition affecting the ability to provide informed consent or comply with study procedures
• Any medical, obstetric, or psychological condition judged by the research team or attending clinician to make participation unsafe or inappropriate
• Inability or unwillingness to adhere to the 12-week ASK programme or study assessments