Midwives’ knowledge and experiences of providing weight management advice to pregnant women

Abstract Objective To conduct patient and public involvement (PPI) to gain insight into the experience of healthy eating and weight management advice during pregnancy. Design PPI in the planning and development of health interventions, aiming to ensure patient-centred care. Optimum nutrition and weight management are vital for successful pregnancy outcomes, yet many services report poor attendance and engagement. Setting Community venues in Liverpool and Ulster (UK). Participants Two PPI representatives were involved in all aspects of the study: design, interview questions, recruitment and collection/analysis of feedback. Intervention Feedback was collected via note taking during group discussions, two in Liverpool (n = 10 & 5); two in Ulster (n = 7 & 9) and an interview (n = 1, in Ulster). Main Outcome Measures Transcript data were collated and thematic analysis was applied in analysis. Results Thematic analysis identified three themes: (i) weight gain is inevitable in pregnancy; (ii) healthy eating advice is important but currently lacks consistency and depth and (iii) expectations regarding the type of knowledge/support. Conclusions PPI provides opportunity to enhance research design and offers valuable insight towards the needs of healthcare users. Pregnant women want positive health messages, with a focus on what they can/should do, rather than what they should not do. Midwives need to consider their communication with pregnant women, to ensure that their unique relationship is maintained, especially when the topics of diet and weight management are addressed. A well-designed digital intervention could improve access to pregnancy-specific nutrition information; empowering midwives to communicate patient-centred, healthy eating messages with confidence. This has the potential to change dietary and weight management behaviour in pregnant women.

Download Full-text

A qualitative study exploring midwives' perceptions and knowledge of maternal obesity: Reflecting on their experiences of providing healthy eating and weight management advice to pregnant women

Maternal and Child Nutrition ◽

10.1111/mcn.12520 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Mary T. McCann ◽

Lisa Newson ◽

Catriona Burden ◽

Jane S. Rooney ◽

Margaret S. Charnley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Weight Management ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Maternal Obesity ◽

Management Advice

Download Full-text

Eating for 1, Healthy and Active for 2; feasibility of delivering novel, compact training for midwives to build knowledge and confidence in giving nutrition, physical activity and weight management advice during pregnancy

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth ◽

10.1186/1471-2393-14-218 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Andrea Basu ◽

Lynne Kennedy ◽

Karen Tocque ◽

Sharn Jones

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Weight Management ◽

Management Advice

Download Full-text

Obesity and cancer: student therapeutic radiographers’ understanding of obesity and cancer and their role in weight management

Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice ◽

10.1017/s1460396920001065 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Manmeet Kaur ◽

Laura Charlesworth

Keyword(s):

Weight Management ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Education Institution ◽

Service Users ◽

Healthy Weight ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Staff Members ◽

Margin Of Error ◽

Management Advice ◽

Obesity And Cancer

Abstract Aims: To explore student therapeutic radiographers’ understanding of obesity and cancer and to identify if student therapeutic radiographers believe that radiographers should have a role within weight management. Materials and Methods: This study used a self-completed online questionnaire (google forms) to collect data from Radiotherapy and Oncology students, studying at one Higher Education Institution, to gain an understanding of their current knowledge of weight management. A retrospective margin of error calculation was carried out, showing a 9% margin of error with a 90% confidence level. Results: In total 57 responses were received, n = 50 BSc students and n = 7 pre-registration MSc students. Three key barriers to openly discussing weight loss management with service users emerged from the questionnaire data; these were a lack of time, lack of clear guidelines and lack of confidence. These barriers could potentially be addressed by improving education and training, making it easier for therapeutic radiographers to openly discuss weight management with service users. Findings: Awareness of guidelines was suboptimal, with 82% (n = 47) of respondents unaware of any guidelines. In addition to this, the majority of students identified a lack of confidence as a barrier to them providing weight management advice. Despite this, 54·4% of respondents agreed that radiographers should have a role in providing weight management advice, with 22·2% of respondents being unsure. Findings suggest that behaviour change is required amounts both students and staff members, so that healthcare professionals are more inclined to have healthy weight management discussions. Perhaps more specialist roles need to be developed, so that healthy weight management discussions can become a norm.

Download Full-text

Barriers to weight management in pregnant mothers with obesity: a qualitative study on mothers with low socioeconomic background

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth ◽

10.1186/s12884-021-04243-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fahimeh Mehrabi ◽

Najva Ahmaripour ◽

Sara Jalali-Farahani ◽

Parisa Amiri

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Weight Management ◽

Socioeconomic Background ◽

Theory Approach ◽

Personal Factors ◽

Care Providers ◽

Low Socioeconomic

Abstract Background Maternal obesity is a public health issue that could affect both women’s and children’s health. This qualitative study aimed to identify barriers to weight management of pregnant women with obesity and low socioeconomic backgrounds. Methods The current qualitative study has been conducted using a grounded theory approach by analyzing data collected from in-depth interviews with clients of Tehran’s public health care centers for prenatal care. The criteria for selecting participants were excessive weight gain during the first two trimesters of pregnancy, low socioeconomic status, and willingness to share their experiences. A semi-structured guide consisting of open-ended questions was asked in a private room. Open, axial, and selective coding were applied to the data. Findings Four main themes emerged from data, each of which has some subcategories: 1) personal factors (unpleasant emotions and feelings, personal tastes/hobbies, workload and responsibilities, and history of diseases), 2) pregnancy status (unintended and high-risk pregnancy), 3) interpersonal relationships and support (lack of a spouse’s support and unhealthy role modeling of relatives), 4) socio-cultural factors/influences (social norms and values, lack of access to health services, and unreliable information channels). Conclusions This study provides an overview of the barriers to the weight management of pregnant women from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The results could help develop appropriate health strategies for low socioeconomic women with obesity. Also, health care providers for this group of women could use these findings as a guide to consider their conditions and background.

Download Full-text

Weight assessment and the provision of weight management advice in primary care: a cross-sectional survey of self-reported practice among general practitioners and practice nurses in the United Kingdom

BMC Family Practice ◽

10.1186/s12875-020-01184-z ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nathan Critchlow ◽

Gillian Rosenberg ◽

Harriet Rumgay ◽

Robert Petty ◽

Jyotsna Vohra

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

United Kingdom ◽

Weight Management ◽

General Practitioners ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Practice Nurses ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Management Advice

Download Full-text

Exploring obstetricians’, midwives’ and general practitioners’ approach to weight management in pregnant women with a BMI ≥25 kg/m2: a qualitative study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024808 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. e024808 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Caragh Flannery ◽

Sheena McHugh ◽

Louise C Kenny ◽

Mairead N O’Riordan ◽

Fionnuala M McAuliffe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Weight Management ◽

General Practitioners ◽

Antenatal Clinic ◽

Maternity Hospital ◽

Psychosocial Needs ◽

Roles And Responsibilities ◽

Semistructured Interviews ◽

Evidence Based Guidelines

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) beliefs and attitudes towards weight management for pregnant women with a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2.DesignQualitative study.SettingA public antenatal clinic in a large academic maternity hospital in Cork, Ireland, and general practice clinics in the same region.ParticipantsHCPs such as hospital-based midwives and consultant obstetricians and general practitioners (GPs).MethodSemistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of hospital-based HCPs and a sample of GPs working in the same region. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed using NVivo software.ResultsSeventeen HCPs were interviewed (hospital based=10; GPs=7). Four themes identified the complexity of weight management in pregnancy and the challenges HCPs faced when trying to balance the medical and psychosocial needs of the women. HCPs acknowledged weight as a sensitive conversation topic, leading to a ‘softly-softly approach’to weight management. HCPs tried to strike a balance between being woman centred and empathetic and medicalising the conversation. HCPs described ‘doing what you can with what you have’ andshifting the focus to managing obstetric complications. Furthermore, there wereunclear roles and responsibilitiesin terms of weight management.ConclusionHCPs need to have standardised approaches and evidence-based guidelines that support the consistent monitoring and management of weight during pregnancy.

Download Full-text