![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0024257b-614.jpg\"\/)
\nDr Emma Cowley, lead researcher on the project<\/p>\n
A project led by researchers at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone aims to contribute to Ireland’s first evidence-based guidelines for returning to exercise postpartum.<\/p>\n
In partnership with the Regional Hospital Mullingar, the MAMAMOVE project is being co-created by women in the midlands through focus groups and lived experience.<\/p>\n
Alongside clinicians, the project hopes to identify the real barriers to exercise, from childcare issues to physical fear.<\/p>\n
The aim of this project is to create a safe roadmap for women returning to exercise and is led by the SHE Research Centre based on the TUS Athlone campus, in partnership with Regional Hospital Mullingar.<\/p>\n
“This isn\u2019t about getting in shape after pregnancy” explains Dr Emma Cowley, lead researcher on the project.<\/p>\n
“Without proper guidance, new mothers face a risk of musculoskeletal pain, pelvic floor impairments, or complete disengagement from physical activity out of fear and confusion.<\/p>\n
“Approximately 35% of women with a “normal” pre-pregnancy body mass index will experience overweight or obesity one year postpartum, driving a 28 – 48% increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.”<\/p>\n
\nDr Emma Cowley, lead researcher on the project<\/p>\n
Unlike traditional “top-down” medical studies, researchers say the MAMAMOVE project will be co-created by the women who have given birth.<\/p>\n
They say the study will build Ireland’s first open-access dataset on postpartum wellbeing.<\/p>\n
The team at TUS will conduct clinical testing – measuring fasting blood glucose, cholesterol and inflammatory markers – to explore the programme’s direct impacts on women’s long-term health.<\/p>\n
Dr Cowley says that MAMAMOVE envisions a future “where a graded, supported return to exercise is a standard, fully integrated part of the national postpartum care pathway”.<\/p>\n
According to the research, maternity education provides guidance on sleep and eating but offers little evidence-based support for a safe return to exercise.<\/p>\n
Researchers say this initiative comes in response to a gender gap in sport and exercise data that shows only 6% of research between 2014 and 2021 focused exclusively on women, leaving a “dangerous knowledge gap” for women recovering from pregnancy.<\/p>\n
Beyond the immediate clinical trial, the research also aims to develop the first postpartum-specific mobile app and a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to train midwives and public health nurses nationally.<\/p>\n
The initiative involves collaboration with the Regional Hospital Mullingar, the University of Ghent in Belgium as well as postpartum experts based in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A project led by researchers at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone aims to contribute to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[565,134,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-357145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}