Dynamic Stability Changes during 3rd Trimester of Pregnancy

Pregnancy causes physiological and psychological changes, as the female body physically adapts to support fetal growth, changes in weight distribution, and the mother's cognitive processing. Previous work has identified changes in gait mechanics during pregnancy as a response to changes in the body and to minimize the risk of imbalance. However, over a quarter of women fall at least once during pregnancy, a rate comparable to older adult fall risk, with falls occurring most commonly in the third trimester. Accidental falls are the most common cause of minor injury during pregnancy and can cause upwards of 39% of trauma visits. Therefore, to prevent injury in pregnancy from falls, it is important to first understand how stability changes with pregnancy. This study investigates how walking stability compares between healthy controls and women in their third trimester of pregnancy, and also aims to determine if routine tasks that often occur simultaneously to walking further interfere with stability. The overall goal of this work is to determine how gait stability changes with pregnancy, and if we can predict gait stability measures from easily attainable clinical measures to identify expectant mothers at risk of instability before injury occurs.